


Endless Entertainment (Spinel Crystal Gem AU)

by RensaBean



Category: Steven Universe (Cartoon), Steven Universe - Fandom
Genre: AU where Pink Diamond takes Spinel with her, Canon Divergence, Fix-It of Sorts, Gem Corruption, I’ll make it not sad soon I promise, More tags later, Multi, Original Fusion Character, Pink Diamond is actually a good person, SU movie spoiler warning, Spinel deserved better, well kind of anyways, when did this fic get sad?
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-09-08
Updated: 2020-04-04
Packaged: 2020-10-12 07:02:46
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 18
Words: 24,515
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20560184
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/RensaBean/pseuds/RensaBean
Summary: What if Pink Diamond got bored on Earth and decided to have Spinel come with her! The ending we all wanted for our favorite heart shaped gem.





	1. Pink’s Colony

**Author's Note:**

> Thanks for being interested in this fic! I saw a lot of people wanted this AU on Tumblr. I hope you enjoy! <3
> 
> -Ren

As Pink Diamond’s best friend and personal companion, Spinel had always been there to make sure Pink was happy. She was so excited to learn that her Diamond was getting her own colony. She daydreamed about exploring a new world at the side of her best friend. When Pink invited Spinel to live on Earth with her during the colonization process, it only took about 2 seconds for her to agree to go. 

She replayed the conversation over and over again in her head as the boarded Pink’s personal leg ship. 

————

“Spinel? Can I ask something of you?”  
She had said. 

“Anything, my Diamond!” Spinel replied excitedly, hoping for a new game to play. 

“I didn’t realize how boring running a colony could be.” Pink rolled her eyes. “Would you like to come with me on my next trip to Earth to lighten the mood?” 

Spinel had implied that she was very willing to go with her Diamond by the way her face lit up like a Christmas tree and the various exclamations of excitement that came out of her mouth. 

————

As Spinel and her best friend got off the ship, she was amazed at how beautiful the planet was. Like a big version of the garden where Pink and her would play games. 

However, Pink was right. Earth could use some entertainment, and luckily Spinel is there to save all of these gems from shattering from boredom. 

“Ohh, Pink, let’s go explore!” Suggested Spinel. 

Before Pink Diamond could respond, her pearl interjected their conversation. 

“My Diamond,” said the pearl,” We have a few high-ranking gems here to discuss the locations of the kindergartens. So if you’d follow me, please.” Pearl motioned her arms to direct Pink’s attention to a group of fancily dressed gems. 

They must be important, thought Spinel. She noticed that they also look incredibly tense. She decided to go talk to these gems while Pink’s pearl talked her Diamond’s ear off about logistical nonsense. 

“Hiya! How are you today?” Asked Spinel. 

A Lapis Lazuli that was positioned at the head of the group tilted her head. 

“Uhm, hello?” The Lazuli said, staring down at Spinel’s innocent appearance. “What is your purpose, exactly?” 

Spinel was taken back by the gem’s hostility. 

“To keep gems like you from being so up tight all the time.” Spinel replied in her normal cheery tone. 

The Lazuli gasped. A couple of elegant sapphires in the group started giggling to themselves. A serious looking jasper guard chuckled. Spinel smiled her big cartoony smile like she hadn’t done anything wrong, and booped the Lapis’ nose by stretching her arm to reach. The Lazuli clenched her fists. 

As if on cue, Pink Diamond glided over with her pearl attached to her hip. 

“My Diamond.” Said the group of gems in unison. Pink dismisses their Diamond-shaped arm solutes with a wave of her hand. 

“My Diamond, if you’d please remove this... gem from our conversation,” the Lazuli motioned to Spinel, “I don’t think she is mature enough to discuss such important topics with us.”

“Spinel has done nothing wrong,” said Pink, trying hard to sound like a real monarch. “She was just doing what she was made to do. I don’t think you were made to question me, we’re you?” 

“Well, I- but she-”

“I am just as much of a Diamond as Yellow or Blue.” Pink interjected. “Trust me when I say I know how to rule over a a group of gems.” 

That shut the sassy gem up.

“M-my apologies, My Diamond. I meant no offense.” The Lazuli bowed her head and sunk back into the group of gems. 

Spinel was looking up at her Diamond with sparkles in her eyes as Pink continued to converse with the group of higher-ups. Her best friend really stuck up for her. That’s why they get along so well, thought Spinel. 

“Spinel, if you would, entertain pearl for a while, I would like to talk to the Sapphires alone. Thank you.” Said Pink, causing Spinel to snap out of her awe at the sound of her name. 

Entertain? That would be Spinel’s middle name if gems had middle names. 

Pink’s pearl looked concerned, but nodded her head and turned to face the heart-shaped gem in front of her. Getting through to this pearl is going to be a challenge, thought Spinel. 

But no challenge was too great for Pink Diamond’s best friend.


	2. Pink’s Pearl

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Spinel tried to befriend Pink Diamond’s pearl. After all, a friend of Pink’s was a friend of her’s.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks for all the love on part one! I appreciate it a lot. So without further ado, here’s chapter 2!

Spinel was right. Trying to entertain Pink’s Pearl was very difficult. It didn’t help that the gem had her mind set on looking poised and professional. 

“So... what do you wanna do?” Asked Spinel. 

“I’ll do whatever you want to do. As long as I keep Pink Diamond happy.” The pearl responded. 

But Spinel thought it was her job to keep Pink in good spirits? I guess multiple fun people couldn’t hurt, said Spinel to herself. 

“Well, you’re not going to make anyone happy if you act like a perfect robot all day, silly!” Spinel started bouncing a little as she talked. 

Pearl considered this, then responded,” I guess not, but I cannot have fun myself. That’s not my purpose.”

“That’s so boooooring. If you don’t have fun, Pink won’t have any either!”

“Would you stop that!” Said Pearl at a higher volume than Spinel thought she could go. 

Spinel stopped bouncing. A few gems around the area looked over towards the palanquin where Pearl and her were standing for a brief second, and then turned back around. 

“Stop... what?”

Pearl sighed. “I know you and our Diamond spend a lot of time together playing, but to keep calling her by a nickname in front of the rest of her court? That’s a little... unprofessional.”

Really? Is that why she’s mad? Because she calls her best friend by a nickname that she’s been allowed to call her by?

Spinel takes a deep breath and mumbles,”Sorry,” while looking at the floor. She was in no mood to fight with Pink’s pearl. Any friend of Pink Diamond was also her friend. 

————

When the young Diamond returned to her pearl standing properly in place and Spinel sitting on the ground next to her with her legs crossed picking at grass, she knew that something was wrong. 

“Hey Spinel! Hello Pearl. What’s going on here?” Asked Pink. 

Spinel looked up and her eyes got big and her smile grew wide. Pink was here to save her! 

Pearl saluted the Diamond before them and was slightly frowning at the way her name was called. Before Pearl could say anything, Spinel stood up. 

“Pearl wouldn’t let me do anything fun.” Spinel crossed her arms. 

Pink Diamond leaned into Spinel’s ear and whispered, “I don’t believe she knows what ‘fun’ is. We should teach her.” 

Pearl heard nothing of the whispering conversation, but the sly grins that Spinel and her Diamond had on their faces spelled danger. 

“Spinel, didn’t you want to explore earlier? We can take Pearl and observe the planet! I have about 2 hours before my next important meeting.” 

Spinel nodded. “Pearl, do you wanna come with us?”

The pearl’s face returned to its neutral half-smile. “I guess I have no choice.” 

Spinel and Pink cheered. Operation “Make Pearl Have Fun” was in affect. 

—————

The Earth was stunning. There were more types of flowers than Spinel had ever seen during her days in the garden. Noticing that Pearl had once again attached herself to the side of Pink Diamond, she came up with a plan. 

“We should roll down the hill!” Suggested Spinel.

She was pointing to a patch of dandelions and the decline further down the mountain from where Pink’s palanquin was located. Most importantly, it out of sight from other gems who would certainly disapprove of these hijinks. 

“My Diamond, I don’t think this is a good idea.” Said Pearl. 

“You think everything is a bad idea. I trust Spinel, I think you should just meet us at the bottom of the hill. You’re not ready to be fun yet, I guess.” Pink Said, looking behind her towards Pearl as she meandered over to where Spinel was positioned at the top of the steep slope. 

“My Diamond, wait!” Pearl said, as if on cue. 

Pink Diamond and Spinel smiled at each other schemingly. Pearl soon joined them at the patch of flowers. 

“I’ll go first, and then stretch my arms to catch you at the bottom!” Said Spinel, stretching her arms out to show off her skill at morphing her limbs. “Don’t worry Pearl, it’ll be fine.”

“Good idea, Spinel!” Said Pink. 

“As long as our Diamond stays safe and happy. ” Pearl chimed in, pointing one finger to the sky. “But most importantly; safe.”

Pink nodded to Spinel, and the little pink gem laid down horizontally against the slope and was sent flying down the hill. 

————

After everyone had successfully rolled down the hill, Pearl was smiling, much to her Diamond’s surprise. 

“Pearl, I’ve never seen you so happy before!” Pink laughed. 

Pearl blushed. “I guess so, I mean, you were safe.” Spinel didn’t know that Pearl could smile so wide. 

Pearl helped her Diamond stand up. “This seemed like a nice way to spend time admiring the flora of your colony before it all dies.”

“Wait, what?” Said Spinel. 

“Well, usually the process of creating more gems in colonies drains a planet of its life.” Explained Pearl.

“Really?” Spinel looked to the Diamond beside her, searching for an answer. 

Pink looked back at Spinel and put a hand on the small gem’s shoulder. “I knew this was going to happen. And yes, this planet is quite beautiful, but there are always other planets with plant life. Besides, I’ve been reassured by Yellow and Blue that there aren’t any living things on this planet besides plants and bugs. Everything’s going to be ok.”

Spinel nodded understandingly, and Pink patted her head gently. 

“Now, my Diamond, we should be heading back. You’re covered in dirt.” Pearl gestured to Pink’s slightly dusty attire. 

“Pearl, don’t worry about me so much. Look, it’s fine.” Their Diamond said, effortlessly wiping the dirt off of her legs. 

“Pink knows what she’s doing, silly!” Spinel said to Pearl, as an attempt to comfort her. 

Pearl sighed, but regained her normal sophisticated posture. Pink Diamond was then swiftly escorted back to her palanquin where she was to do all sorts of meetings for the rest of the day. 

How incredibly boring, thought Spinel. At least Pink and her had gotten Pearl to smile today. 

Maybe tomorrow will be better. It had to be, or this is going to be a loooooong colonization. 

————

A few weeks later, Pink Diamond received news that gems from the new kindergarten were emerging. The last kindergarten had produced a super buff jasper who was assigned to Pink when she was on Earth. Spinel hoped with this new batch of gems that she would get to see more cool new quartzes like that jasper. 

That day, however, Pearl, Spinel and Pink were all on Earth’s moon base. The young Diamond was not allowed to go to the kindergartens to greet the gems that were emerging. 

It disheartened Pearl and Spinel to see Pink so bored. 

“Hey Spinel, can we talk outside?” Pearl asked. 

“Uhh, sure!” 

The two gems excused themselves from Pink’s mini throne. 

“You hate to see her upset too, correct?” Pearl said in a low voice

“Duh! I’m literally here to provide entertainment to her!” Spinel whisper-yelled. 

“I have an idea. Do you see that sphere?”  
Pearl gestured to a floating orb that was in the center of the room downstairs. 

“Yeah, what’s it do?” 

“She can observe the kindergarten without actually being there.”

“Ooh! Why didn’t we do this earlier? You’re so smart Pearl.” Spinel giggled and booped Pearl’s nose. 

“It-it’s nothing.” Pearl said through a small blush. “Let’s just go get our Diamond.”

Pink was in love with the idea. She floated down to the first floor instead of taking the stairs and Spinel followed suit, stretching her way down to the bottom. Pearl took her time getting down the stairs gracefully. 

When Pearl put her hands to the orb, Spinel and Pink audibly gasped. It was amazing; they were suddenly transported to a scene of all sorts of quartzes busting out of the grayish rocky sides of the kindergarten. 

“Hello! Welcome to Earth!” Pink said with her arms stretched towards a group of amethysts. 

However, the group phased right past the Diamond, because she was not really there. The plan did not seem to work, because Pink now wanted to be there even more. Then, Pearl had another idea. 

“What if you took on the appearance of a quartz soldier, and went down to meet the new gems?” Pearl suggested, projecting an image from her gem of Pink Diamond shapeshifting into a blush-colored quartz with long curly hair. 

Wow, Pearl was an idea machine. Way more fun than she was about a month ago, thought Spinel. 

Pink also love this idea, and for the first, and most likely not the last time, she turned into Rose Quartz, a common soldier. 

“This is so cool! I look just like a common soldier! Thank you for the idea, Pearl.” Said Pink/Rose, admiring her new appearance. 

“Wow, Pink, you look so cool!” Said Spinel in admiration. 

The trio of gems then stepped on a warp pad, and headed into the kindergarten. 

————

“Welcome to Earth! I’m so glad you’re here!” Said Rose Quartz. This time around, the amethysts nearby could hear her and we’re very happy to know the sounds of encouragement. 

“Wow. That is the nicest, and first, thing anyone has ever said to me.” Remarked one of the purple gems. 

Spinel was thrilled to meet new people. She stretched her arms out to encircle three quartzes who were close by into a hug. Pearl stood by and watched the two greet the newly emerged gems with bright smiles. 

Pearl went over to Spinel, who was done hugging the strangers. 

“Spinel, I... I’m sorry. I know I yelled at you when we first met. I just thought you were a bad influence, but you’ve actually helped make Pink so happy during her time here. For that, I’m really grateful.”

Spinel stared at the tall white gem in awe. “You... called her Pink! You’re actually not totally a stick in the mud for once!”

“You’re not mad at me? For not exactly being the nicest person?”

“Why would I be mad at one of my closest friends? It’s ok. Everyone messes up sometimes, even me. A lot of the time, actually.”

“Well, I think you’re wonderful to be around. I hope I didn’t make you think any different. I’ve never had a friend before, but I’m glad you consider me one.”

Pearl was suddenly in a bear hug with Spinel. The way the pink heart gem could stretch her limbs was something that was hard to get used to, but the hug was still very comforting to the conflicted gem. 

When it was time for Rose, Pearl, and Spinel to leave the kindergarten, it seemed like only minutes that they were there. In reality, it was almost all day, as the sun had already set by the time they got back to the moon base and Rose Quartz had turned into Pink Diamond once again. 

It seemed like everything was falling into place. Spinel found a new home on Earth, and a new friend, too.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Pearl is such a mom friend in this chapter lol. Thanks for the read! Suggestions for this story are greatly appreciated! <3
> 
> Cya in the next chapter (hopefully!)
> 
> -Ren


	3. Pink’s Predicament

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> As Pink Diamond explores the vastness of Earth as Rose Quartz, it was only a matter of time before she discovered there was more organic life than just bugs and plants.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Wow! Thank you so much for 1,000 hits on the second day of this fic existing! That crazy! Ily and I hope you enjoy this chapter, I think it’s pretty cute. :P
> 
> You guys are seriously so supportive what the hecc  
-Ren

All these days of being serious and sophisticated as she worked on boring statistics were very taxing on Pink Diamond. Having Spinel around any time she was on Earth, which was a majority of the time, definitely helped lift her spirits. Pearl was lightening up on the strict rule following, which helped things less stressful. 

However, what she was always really excited for was when she got to be Rose Quartz. Sporting a traditional quartz soldier outfit and roaming around the Earth, carefree, with the two gems she was the closest with. Pearl and Spinel always tagged along during her escapades as Rose. They acted more like friends and less like loyal subjects, which was relieving to the small Diamond. 

Working hard almost full-time to run the colony while also making time for friends was a hard balance to find- but luckily Pearl was there to help schedule the meetings and Spinel was in charge of planning the fun adventures, which was two less things Pink Diamond would have to do. 

Pearl felt relief every time Pink turned into Rose and they go on outings. Rose seemed to love whenever Pearl acted like herself and not some rule following husk of a gemstone. And Pearl had to admit- as much as she loved making rules, she also enjoyed breaking them in her spare time. 

Spinel was just along for the ride. She had never seen Pink so happy in all of the days that they had spent in the garden. She admired Pearl’s new knack for free thinking. Pink had taught her so much about being independent, yet together. She loved to stay at the side of her friends, and she had decided that it was more of a choice rather than a mandatory thing. 

Rose Quartz loved to wander the vastness of Earth whenever she didn’t have things to do as Pink Diamond. She noted the value of having friends, and how important, even if a little clingy, those friends were. 

All of the bliss of adventure seemed to end the day they discovered humans in the forest. 

————

Spinel was skipping along through a pine tree forest when she had tripped on a rock. Rose and Pearl headed over to make sure she was ok, but heard voices. They thought other gems had found them. However, when they peered over the bushes, they saw a small, peaceful group of organics gathered by a river, storing water in jars, oblivious to the fact that they were sharing a planet with space tyrants. 

The three gems all exchanged looks. Pearl frowned, Spinel was staring in awe at the new life forms, but Rose? 

Rose Quartz was furious. Blue and Yellow had ensured her that there was no significant life on the planet. Couldn’t they very easily have known that these life forms, that resembled the figure of most gems, were roaming the planet?

Rose immediately ended their trip and headed back to the moon base, where she shape shifted back into Pink Diamond and went to contact her variously colored counterparts. 

“Do you think this is a good idea, my Diamond? We don’t know how they’ll react to this.” Said Pearl, trailing behind Pink Diamond’s long strides towards her communication hub. 

“I don’t want the organics to just die! We need to do something. Make sure they’re safe. You saw them, they weren’t hurting anyone.” Replied Pink, who had begun to pace back and forth

“I wonder if those people know how to play tag...?” Spinel pondered. Like a small child, she was sometimes insightful, but most often distracted. 

“I think we should at least ask what Blue and Yellow think. Maybe they didn’t know about this?” Pink reasoned with herself. “Yeah, that seems right.”

Pink opened her communication window and contacted Yellow Diamond. 

————

“This is the Yellow Diamond line, who is speaking?” Said a distracted yellow tinted pearl, not looking up at the monitor. 

“Oh, hello Pink!” Said Blue Diamond, taking the communicator away from the pearl. 

“Where’s Yellow?” Asked Pink. 

“Right here,” Said Yellow Diamond, who was apparently sitting next to Blue typing away at a computer, judging from what could be made out from the projection. 

“Oh, perfect,” Replied Pink, ”I was wondering why you didn’t tell me the truth about the organic life on the planet?”

“Whatever are you talking about?”

“There are average-gem-sized living beings here!”

Blue’s smile lowered. Yellow was the one to break the short period of silence. 

“Fine I guess I’ll tell her.” Yellow said, looking at Blue. “I honestly didn’t think you would care, Pink. Apart of colonization is using the lands resources for our expansion. You know this. It’s not like the humans are making good use of the planet, anyway.”

“Humans? Is that what they are?” Pink interjected. 

“Yes, but that is not the point. If you want to keep your colony, than ignore those insignificant life forms and keep going according to plan. I just want what’s best for you, and that’s the end of this discussion.”

“But what if-“

“End. Of. Discussion.” Yellow reached to turn off the comm and added a stiff, “Have a nice day, Pink.”

“Love you, Pink!” Said Blue Diamond before the call was disconnected. 

———

The next day, Spinel just didn’t seem entertaining enough to get Pink Diamond out of her funk. She even tried baton twirling, but got nothing from her except a small pity smile. Spinel knew why her Diamond was upset, but there was nothing she could do besides crack jokes and juggle. 

Pearl also felt the weird vibe. It was hard for her to keep her neutral pleasant pearl expression as she stood next to the throne where Pink Diamond was sulking. 

The bright afternoon sunshine coming through the holes in the walls of the palanquin mixed with the vibrant pink hibiscus flowers gently swaying in the ocean’s breeze were no match for the grey cloud of morbidity that lurked over the gems’ heads. 

Pink had Yellow Diamond’s words swirling around in her head. She wanted this colony, but at what price? She didn’t want these humans just to wait patiently for their death. 

How could she pull it off? 

Maybe ask Blue, she had always nurtured Pink Diamond more than Yellow did. But Yellow had given her the colony...

What could the smallest member of the Diamond Authority do during a situation like this?

This was a predicament indeed.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks for the read! I’m happy to hear feedback and story suggestions! 
> 
> Love you guysss :D  
Cya! -Ren


	4. The Beauty of New Things

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Pink’s thoughts on her colony, and why she doesn’t seem to care about the plant and insect life of the planet, even though she cares in the TV show. 
> 
> (Just a small headcannon I had to clarify :P)

Pink Diamond sat on her throne and stared at the vast green lands of her colony. In a year or so, these lands would be barren and cold. 

She could handle it, right? Why did she care, anyways? She’s not supposed to care. 

After all, the years of lessons she had taken from Blue and Yellow Diamond had ensured that she didn’t get to attached to this place. Those lessons that had taught her how to act and behave like a proper Diamond. 

Why was this so difficult to do? Just sit and let it happen. 

But the Earth was so....

Beautiful. 

She recalled a lesson that Blue had taught her on how to handle, or more like suppress, emotions. A lesson she had learned after letting loose another one of her live souvenirs from one of Yellow Diamond’s colonies. 

————

Though her blue-tinted role model had a problem with emotional control herself, she insisted on providing insight on coping with the stress and regret that comes with colonizing a planet. 

“Pink, as you may be aware, some solar systems have planets with beautiful scenery and the most curious of creatures. There may be a time where you’re a little disappointed that you have to colonize it.” Blue looked to Pink to see is she followed what was being said. 

Pink said nothing at the time, just absorbing the words, and nodded. 

“However, we may have been to lenient before when we let you save some foreign creatures from our colonies because you thought they ‘looked nice’.” 

Pink understood. The creatures she would bring home did seem to cause messes around the palace. Though, she didn’t see why she couldn’t be infatuated with different life forms. 

“From now on, you have to get used to watching planets die off. It sounds harsh and sad, I know, but getting attached to something as frivolous as a colorful worm or pretty flower is going to make things worse for you. As a Diamond, you have to stand confident and proud, even on your lowest days. We have high expectations to meet, Pink, do you understand?”

“I... guess so.” Pink said to the ground. 

“Good. Maybe in a year’s time, you’ll be observing your own colony, and watching the magnificent process of building a new world there.”

Pink was dismissed from the mini lesson with a grim expression written on her face. 

————

She thinks about this lesson now, on her first ever colony called Earth. 

She’s tried so hard to not fall in love with the gentle wings of the hummingbird or the sweet smells of the honeysuckle flowers. 

After all, she wanted this colony. She was not going to give up her hard work for a patch of grass. 

Or was she?

The two sides of her find fought back and forth and she pondered why she loved wildlife so much. 

It was just so different from what she’s known her whole life. 

The mossy rocks, the beautiful sunshine, it was all so breathtaking. 

And she was going to sit by idly and watch it die, just so Homeworld could reach its reign farther and farther across the known universe. 

Pink Diamond felt sick. Sick and tired of trying to hide feelings that weren’t even bad in the first place. Sick of trying to not be vulnerable. Her only two friends, Spinel and Pearl taught her so much about being an individual with feeling and emotions of their own. 

Feelings aren’t a bad thing. Love is not a bad thing. 

That was something Pink realized the other Diamonds would never truly understand.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I hope this made sense lol. 
> 
> Cya later alligators!  
-Ren


	5. Take a Stand

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Rose Quartz begins to resist Earth’s colonization, sporting a new look with a familiar star.

This was the last straw. 

For a month, Pink has asked her fellow Diamonds to reconsider colonizing Earth.

And for a month, they have refused to grant her request. 

No matter how many times they said no, she was not going to give up. She had decided that she didn’t want her colony to die. 

Even if that means loosing everything she’d worked hard for. 

But then, she had an idea. 

Nobody recognized her when the paraded around with her friends as Rose Quartz. If she resisted colonization, and found other gems to help...?

Is that a bad idea?

Pink needed to do this. Nobody listened to her now, but maybe as Rose, she could get other gems to listen. She could show others the beauty of Earth and the wonder of deciding your own fate. 

She decided on discussing this plan with Pearl and Spinel. Mostly with Pearl, but her heart-shaped companion would probably be there as well clinging to Pearl’s side. 

————

“I... don’t know how that would work out.” Said Pearl after being asked. “But, if you really want to free Earth, we have to try something.”

“So how do we start?” Asked Spinel. 

“We start causing trouble.” Said Pink, who then turned to light as she shifted into her other self, Rose Quartz. This time, though, she was wearing an elegantly ruffled white dress with a pale yellow star where the gem in her stomach poked out. The star was familiar to Spinel, as it reminded her of the little insignia on the pillars of the garden- a pink flower with five rounded petals. 

Rose then told Pearl and Spinel that this star would be the symbol of change for Earth, and then nodded for everyone to step in the warp pad. 

The gem trio realized that it was time to cause a ruckus. 

————

Rose, Pearl, and Spinel snuck into the prime kindergarten. Looking around for something to destroy, Spinel noticed one of the injectors clinging to the sides of the rocky ravine. 

Spinel tugged on Pearl’s arm and pointed at the sky towards the large machine. 

“Oh, Spinel, that’s an injector. They help make gems, and that’s why the Earth is so gray and lifeless around here.”

Spinel stood with her arms crossed and her eyebrow raised, waiting for Pearl to put two and two together.

“Oh, I’ve got it! Rose, what if we break that thing? It could work to cause a disturbance.” Pearl pointed to the injector and Rose’s eyes lit up. 

“That’s a good idea! I can just jump up there and smash it, and then we could get the other gems’ attention.” Said Rose Quartz. 

“Ooh! Can I help?” Asked Spinel, with eagerness in her voice.

“No! Uhm I mean, stay down here with Pearl, she needs... a... a hug! Yep! Just, stay here please, Spinel.” Said Rose, putting her hands out in front of her and gently motioning her to move off to the side where Pearl was standing a few feet away. 

Spinel was confused, but happy to listen to her best friend. She trusts that Rose knows what she’s doing, and ran over to give Pearl a big hug. 

“Thanks for the help, Spinel, it probably would have taken a few minutes for me to figure that idea out on my own.” Said Pearl, stiffening at the hug- she wasn’t all that used to physical affection. 

“S’no big deal, Pearl! I can tell you and Rose are really close for some reason, so I thought it would help if you had the idea to cause a distraction. 

As the injector landed right on where Spinel was just standing a few moments ago, Pearl gasped. All of the unfamiliar gems in surrounding area gathered around the crushed heap of metal and glass. 

“What happened?” Asked a tan-colored gem. 

“Who is that?” Added a gray gem with colorful hair. 

“Fellow gems, I am Rose Quartz.” Said Rose, landing softly on the rubble of the injector. “Have you ever thought about the consequences of our colonization?”

“Not really?” Interrupted a confused purple quartz. 

“Maybe you haven’t looked hard enough. Have you ever seen the beautiful blue skies and the refreshing green grass? Did you ever realize how wonderful it is on Earth? A new place, where you can do whatever you want!” Continued the pink-colored rebel. 

The gems in the area begun to look around, glancing up at the clear sky, that was faded from the Earth decaying, and to the patch of alive grass slightly beyond the edges of the kindergarten. 

“So what do we do about it? If... we hypothetically wanted to help you save the Earth?” Asked a green gem. 

“Help me slow down the creation of this kindergarten. Help any way you can. Make a mess that will take a while to clean up.” Replied Rose. 

Crash. 

Bang.

Scratch. 

More injectors were tumbling to the ground. A few crates were knocked over, its glowing contents spilling out onto the floor. Spinel joined in by throwing small pebbles at the gems that didn’t want to help, which was more of an annoyance than a danger to them. 

It seemed that some gems did want the Earth to stay around a little longer. It was working!

“What in the stars above is going on here?!” Said a loud echoing voice. A pink-colored gem, who looked to be an agate, appeared above the ridge of the ravine where the gems were creating a mess. 

The gems all backed up behind the pink quartz who orchestrated this event as the agate approached closer with an electrifying yellow weapon in her hand. 

“Pearl, what’s that?” Spinel whispered from behind Rose. 

“That’s a destabilizer. Don’t touch it, it’d cause you form to dematerialize.” Came a hushed but urgent response. 

“It’s a poofer!” Spinel gasped, then quieted her voice when she noticed the agate started to charge at them. “It’s abut to get to Rose, and then everyone will see that she’s not actually a quartz!”

Rose stood tall, as a shield formed to protect herself from the agate. 

Spinel gasped again and the pink gem and her best friend began to fight. 

“Pearl, get the other gems out of here and to somewhere safe!” Said Rose, blocking another hit. It seemed those fighting lessons from Yellow Diamond were not a waste to her now. 

As Pearl ushered the gems out of the kindergarten, Spinel was frozen. 

“Spinel, what’s wrong? We have to leave!” Said the frantic white gem. 

“But, we cant just leave ‘er here! What about that scary gem?” Spinel curled her fists. 

“Spinel, you’re crazy. Rose will be fine, and you’ve never seen, let alone been in, a fight in your life!”

Rose Quartz was promptly shoved to the side and smacked into the wall. She cursed herself for not practicing more when she was in those lessons. 

The agate approached closer, about to zap the Rose with the yellow bolts of electricity, when Spinel stretched over and grabbed the gem’s legs and knocked her into the ground, effectively keeping her away from zapping her friend. The agate did not get up. 

Spinel and Pearl both breathed outwards in relief and rushed to Rose’s side. 

“Oh my goodness, Rose, are you okay?” Asked a very concerned Spinel. 

“I’m fine. Thank you.” Said her winded friend. 

“What should we do now?” Asked Pearl. 

“Probably go check up on the other gems, they’re probably- Spinel!”

“They’re me? But I’m the only Spin-”

Spinel gasped as cracks of yellow light ran up her form and to her gem, the sounds of the agate behind her laughing at her victory as the small heart shaped gem lost her physical form.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Oof. 
> 
> Thanks for reading! I appreciate it a lot :)
> 
> Feedback is welcome! Ily!
> 
> Cya later!  
-Ren


	6. Change for the Better

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Basically a filler chapter, showing off Spinel’s new form and the gems that decided to follow Rose Quartz. 
> 
> I’ll post a full- on plot chapter later on I just wanted to establish this first :)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Also sorry for the delay between chapters. Color guard (the sport I do lol) is kicking my butt ;~;
> 
> Anyways, I hope you enjoy this small chapter! See you in a lil bit!

As Spinel sat in the blackness of her gem, she thought about who she wanted to be. 

Different was the only word she could come up with. She wanted to change for the better. 

“Spinel, I am so sorry.” Rose had said this to her a while ago when they were on an adventure. 

Sorry for what? She’d have to ask. 

“I underestimated you. To be honest, I almost... left you behind in the garden. You were too clingy.” Rose looked into Spinel’s eyes with a hint of morbidity in her own. “But, you’ve grown so much in the past months. Now, I’ve come to understand that all you needed to be less dependent on me was more friends.”

Spinel remembered every word of what she was told that night. Rose Quartz loves change. Heck, that’s why she is Rose in the first place. Spinel realized that as she had changed and improved, Rose grew less and less frustrated with her being around. She was almost glad that her friend didn’t like the way she was more or less programmed to act like, because it wasn’t her. Spinel is so much more than just come disposable people-pleaser. 

As the self, reflected, she knew she wanted to look... different when she reformed. After all, she did not act of feel as she would have just a handful of months ago. Her few months on Earth had helped her to be better. Act better. 

Be more free and open to new people, friends, and experiences. 

As Spinel thought about how much less reliant on Pink Diamond she was now, a bright light began to shine from her gemstone. 

Spinel opened her eyes to an unfamiliar scene. 

————

Spinel was in the woods, and it was nighttime. She was standing in front of a small campfire that made loud crackling noises. Rose Quartz and a few other gems Spinel recognized from the kindergarten were all staring at her in awe. 

“What’cha lookin’ at? Does my face look funny?” Asked Spinel. 

“Spinel... you look so cool!” Said Rose with excitement in her eyes. 

“Wait, really?” She looked down at her new appearance and smiled a wide, goofy grin. 

From what she could see, she was wearing flowy, thigh-length, gray and pink horizontally striped shorts. There was two white pockets on either side- one had a yellow star and the other had a pink heart. She noticed that her sleeves lost their poofyness, a white halter top now took up the top section of her torso. The only things that stayed the same were the signature pair of heart-shaped buns in her hair, along with her gloves and shoes. 

“Wait, I do look cool!” Spinel said, ”Ooh! I can move my shoulders now!” The bubbly pink gem began moving her shoulders up and down as an example. 

“Spinel, that’s her name?” Whispered an unfamiliar voice. 

“Oh! She’s reformed? Is she ok?” Another voice chimed in. 

“Oh, she’s back!” Said the small chorus of gems that were surrounding the fire. 

“Uhh, yeah, I’m fine!” Said a confused Spinel, rubbing the back of her neck. “What’s going on?”

An orange-tinted gem stepped into Spinel’s field of view, just beside where Rose was standing in front of her. 

“Well, we followed you guys out of the kindergarten. The few of us actually hate our jobs and we want things to change around here.” The gem explained over the crackles of flames from the haphazard campfire behind her. 

“Spinel, this Citrine and her friends want to help us free Earth!” Rose said, with hope glimmering in her eyes. 

“Wait, really? Pearl, your idea worked!” Asked Spinel, searching for her pale friend. 

But she couldn’t find Pearl. 

“Oh, Pearl saw you get poofed and tried to save you... and ended up getting destabilized too.” Rose said, gesturing to the carefully placed gemstone laying on one of the logs around the fire that was next to Spinel. 

“What?! Is she ok? I’m so sorry!”

“It’s fine. It’s not your fault.” Said Rose. 

“Wait, I think she’s coming back too!” Said a yellow gem from behind. 

A shimmering bright light began to shine from the white colored gemstone as it lifted into the air. A familiar pearl wearing an unfamiliar outfit materialized in front of the ensemble of gems. 

This outfit looked way more comfortable than the one she was wearing before. 

She was wearing a simple cyan-colored tank top worn with a subtle light blue star pattern along the ribbon that was tied around her torso. She sported a pair of yellow, knee-length leggings that were complete with small bows at the bottoms of each leg. She wore a pair of simple pink flats as shoes. 

Rose thought her new look was cool, but Spinel was in total awe. 

“Pearl! Ohmygoodnessyoureok! You look so cool!” Said the small pink gem wrapping her newly reformed friend in an inviting hug. 

“Oh, Spinel! I’m glad you’re ok too!” Said Pearl, smiling down at her. 

“Pearl, welcome back!” Said Rose, joining the hug. 

Pearl blushed and melted into the hug. She made a mistake however, and opened her eyes. She stiffened as she saw her unfamiliar surroundings. 

A a group of seven gems were standing around a small fire, smiling awkwardly. 

————

After Rose explained the situation, she let the new gems introduce themselves. Pearl took mental notes of the lineup. 

There was Citrine, a orangish-yellow quartz soldier that was deemed defective because she got scared by a butterfly while on guard duty. 

There was Watermelon Tourmaline who was a strong, pink and green gem. They were once assigned to a help a group peridots with an engineering project. The project failed, causing the peridots to be shattered, and the tourmaline ran away before anything could happen to them. 

There was two very quiet rubies that said very few words. They belonged to a morganite, who always got her way, or else. The two red gems didn’t not like the harsh words their superior was allowed to say to them. 

A very lanky, faded pink Kunzite was in the mixture- she was merely meant to be an accessory gem, used to show off status and prestige, and thus was treated like an object rather than as a real living being. Obviously they were sick of how they were treated. And apparently she belonged to the agate that Rose fought in the ravine.

There was a very kind and welcoming Clear Quartz, that was meant to manage gems coming in and out of the kindergarten. Her heart would break at the sight of every gem that had a one-track mind set on the purpose they were forced to align with. 

A vibrant, purple-colored Lolite that’s job was to “protect” a sapphire- which was actually was a cover-up for the fact that her own gem powers were being drained from her to enhance the sapphire’s powers. Messed up. 

All were gems that were being broken, beaten down, and abused by the system that Rose Quartz had helped create as Pink Diamond. 

All the more reason to try to end Homeworld’s reign on Earth.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks for the read! Any suggestions, let me know! I’ll try to post another chapter soon! Love y’all!
> 
> <3  
-Ren
> 
> (Also- I made Pearl’s form different because I felt like it. Something has to be different because Spinel is around. :P )


	7. Follow the Leader

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Rose Quartz leaves Spinel in charge of the gem camp when she has to do back to being Pink Diamond for the day.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Ayy! Let me know if this chapter makes sense, I felt that it was all over the place, but I hope you enjoy anyways!

There had been rumors spreading on Earth about the Rose Quartz soldier that caused a small uprising in one of the kindergartens. The news is that the creation of the kindergartens is being delayed because of all the damage. 

That’s exactly what Pink Diamond needed to happen. 

Staging a formal address with her pearl at her side, Pink told the story of the little inconvenience via the communication hubs. To keep her alter ego hidden for a little while longer, she decided to say that they didn’t know who caused the disturbance. 

Pink was thinking about Spinel, who she had left with the other gems in the woods. Spinel’s job was to be in charge of taking care of Rose’s new rebellion while she was away doing diamond duties. 

She hoped her very recently-matured friend was as capable as she thought. 

Pink had a lot of time to reflect, because running a colony was less entertaining than destroying it. 

But also because Spinel was not there to cheer her up anymore. 

————

“Okay. Keep ‘em busy. You’ve got this, Spinny. You love keeping gems entertained.” Said the fun-sized pink gem, pacing around the small camp that was established deep in the woods. 

“You okay there, little buddy?” Said Citrine, cautiously approaching a very focused Spinel. 

“Yep! I’m good.”

“Okay good! I was wondering what the plan is?” 

“Uhm... p-plan?”

“Yeah, like, what else are we going to do to thwart the plans of the evil Diamonds?” Citrine stroke a goofy yet determined pose. 

“Oh yes, eeeeevil. Very evil. Maybe, we should prepare first? Like come up with a plan?”

“That’s what I said... which means that it’s obviously a good idea. You’re a good leader, Spinel,” the orange gem said, smiling at the pink gem that was way shorter than her. 

“Pssh, I’m no leader. Though, that could be fun! I am supposed to be in charge, after all.”

Spinel sat around the snuffed out campfire with the menagerie of gems they had gathered from last night’s craziness. 

They had to come up with a plan. 

Rose is gonna be so proud, thought the heart-shaped goofball that was now in charge. 

————

Pink Diamond was worried all day, which most of the gems around her would have assumed was because of the kindergarten accident, and not because of her worries about her friend that mysteriously disappeared. 

“Everything is going to be fine, my Diamond,” Said Pearl, now wearing her formal dress again, as to not gather suspicion from the surrounding court members. 

“Yes, I know. But, do I really know? What if she’s not okay? What if someone found her?”

“There is nothing to worry about, my Radiance,” Said a new voice. 

“Who is there?” Said Pink Diamond, standing up from her throne.

“My apologies, my Diamond, but I’ve been assigned to you again because of the accident last night.” Said a jasper, walking into view. The same very strong Jasper that was assigned to Pink Before, during the early days of colonization. 

“Oh, Jasper, it’s just you. Come in, I guess.” Said Pink, trying and failing to sound formal and unbothered. 

How would she sneak away now, with a very strong and loyal jasper guard looking after her? 

————

As a master of hide-and-seek, Spinel has managed to make their little camp almost unfindable, and to her relief, it took most of the day, meaning that the heart-shaped gem had time to think of a good plan. 

Shouldn’t Rose be back by now? Is something holding up Pink and Pearl? 

“Okay. We’ve hidden the base, what else can we do to help?” Asked Clear Quartz, interrupting Spinel’s thoughts.

“Uhm... I guess we could break more things! That was fun last time.” Suggested Spinel, without a forethought about how this plan would be executed. 

“Sounds good. Let’s go!” Said one of the rubies of the group. 

And off went the haphazard gaggle of gemstones. 

————

The jasper was loyal alright, almost to a fault. Pink Diamond was hours late to her meet up with Spinel and the rest of the gems as Rose Quartz. Even Pearl had tried everything to distract the buff orange gem away from her duty, but nothing could deter her. 

Nothing, but the news of a new disturbance of gems. This time, at the building site of a tall building that was to be named the Observatory, a place meant as a commons area for high ranking gems to commune and share knowledge of the many galaxies. 

Apparently, a small pink gem was leading the charge with a group of seven or so gems at her side. A few more gems had joined in and started tearing the building down. 

Spinel? What on Earth is she doing?

The Jasper finally moved, as Pink Diamond sent her to go help with the apprehension of the gems in question. Not that sending this big strong warrior off to fight her alter ego is a good idea, but alas. It was the only way to free herself from her duties for the night. 

It was then finally time for Rose Quartz to lead her little rebellion for the second time. 

————

There was a very chaotic scene happening at the Observatory. Scaffolding was being knocked down, as well as piles of building materials scattered all over the grassy hill where the building was being built. Spinel was just hoping that she was doing this leadership thing right. 

Then, in the middle of the chaos, Rose showed up. 

Everyone froze when Rose Quartz seemed to float down from the sky with a Pearl at her side. Even the gems who were struggling to defend the building from the eight rebels stopped in confusion. 

“Oh thank goodness, she’s here!” Said Spinel, whispering her excitement. 

Rose looked around, winked at Spinel and the other gems that were with her, and turned around to the gems who were defending the building. 

“My fellow gems, can I ask of you one thing? Look around. Notice the beauty of the world around you. Now think about all you would want to do if your job wasn’t to build buildings of fight other gems.” Rose gestures to the soft bushes and flowers surrounding the now crumbling structure. 

The wind blew around the tall, unkempt grass. The sweet scent of the flowers were lovely. However, in a large radius around the build site, the grass was dead. An amethyst frowned. A bismuth seemed to ponder the second prompt, about wether or not they actually liked to build things. 

Suddenly, Jasper arrived. 

“What are you doing? Get them!” Shouted the orange gem. 

Two gems did not go back to help save the tower. 

That was two more gems that believed in Earth and hoped it could be safe and free one day. 

With Rose Quartz there to help her fellow rebels, the fight was won easily. The Jasper was upset, but not stupid, and eventually she retreated as well. 

The amethyst and the bismuth were still around by the end of the fight, and ready to see what Rose has in mind for freeing the rest of the gems on Earth. 

————

When the tired group of gems arrived back at their secret camp, Rose and Pearl were surprised about how well-hidden the place was. It seemed as though the short pink gem had lead their small team into a fight that might have been hard to win if Rose hadn’t been there; however, she was not as bad as one would assume at being a leader, judging by the well thought out layout of their small home base. 

Rose Quartz took Spinel to a small lake at the edge of the forest while Pearl gave the new gems a little orientation. They sat down and watched the sun set. 

“Spinel, I need you to... like, never do that again. You could’ve gotten hurt.” Said the concerned rose-colored gemstone. 

“I know. I’m sorry. And I promise, I’ll never do that again. I don’t think I wanna be a leader anymore, though.” Spinel gazed into the large body of water at their side, her own embarrassed reflection staring back at her. 

Rose smiled. “I can’t make anymore promises. After all, you did set up and impressive campsite. I was worried most of the day, but it seems I was worried for nothing.”

“Aww, shucks, it was nothing.” Said the heart-shaped gem. “I’m glad I was able to be a trustworthy camp-hider. That’s what friends are for, to be trustworthy, I mean. I don’t think an important quality of friendship is mud painting, but I guess it’s not a bad quality either.”

Rose laughed, a big smile stretched across her previously stressed-out face. It seemed like she needed a second to decompress from a strenuous day, and her best friend was there to make the moment happen. Spinel giggled, leaning on Rose’s arm, when suddenly, a bright light began to shine from their gems. Their forms disappeared, before stuttering and reappearing. 

“What in the world was that?” asked Spinel, holding the two heart-shaped buns that were in her hair in an attempt to make herself less dazed. 

Rose blushed faintly. “I don’t know... that’s never happened to me before. Let’s just pretend it didn’t happen, until we figure out what that was.”

“Ooh! I love playing pretend! That’s a deal. And that was an ordeal.” Spinel chuckled at her own joke. “Let’s go back to camp now. We have to get to know our new friends!”

And so the two slightly awe-stricken friends walked back to camp, cracking light jokes along the way. 

————

When the pair of gems got back to camp, they noticed that everyone looked different. They all had different outfits on, all sporting stars somewhere in their garb. 

“Surprise!” Said Pearl, reading Rose and Spinel’s confused expressions, “I thought it would be nice if we all had matching stars, to represent our little resistance!” 

“It’s lovely! You all look great!” Said Rose, beaming. 

The Bismuth and Amethyst stepped forward to introduce themselves more formally. 

The Bismuth was tired of building great structures to get no credit after construction was complete. She wanted work she could be recognized for. She felt used, and she just wanted to be appreciated for her hard work. 

The Amethyst was off-color. She was almost gray with small patches of dark purple, and was in charge of guarding the tower. She loved flowers, and most importantly, she wanted to keep the wildlife on Earth safe. 

Every gem in the camp that night had one goal: to keep the Earth safe. Wether it was to preserve the wildlife, or to stop the tyrannical rulers that held them back from doing what they loved, they would end colonization on this planet. 

No matter what.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks for reading! Again, let me know any suggestions you have for the story!
> 
> Cya later!
> 
> <3
> 
> Ren


	8. Something Entirely New

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> When Rose and her friends go to attack Blue Diamond and her court when she visits Earth, a Ruby guard Protects her Sapphire.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> *starts chanting* Garnet Garnet Garnet Garn-
> 
> I hope you enjoy this chapter! Thank you for all the kudos aghshdhsnsm <3

It’s been a year now since Pink Diamond first started colonizing Earth. For a third of that year, a group of gems lead by Rose Quartz have been resisting that colonization. 

Then, Blue Diamond decided to visit Earth. A large influx of high-up gems began to migrate to the newer colony in order to greet the giant blue goddess. 

What these gems didn’t know is that Rose Quartz was going to crash their party with her trusty Pearl and friend Spinel at her side. 

————

The gathering was huge. A wide open space was where Blue Diamond’s palanquin was settled. Beautifully carved pillars lined the edges of the marbled platform. The cliff side view from the elevated space was breathtaking. The lush trees surrounding the area make the colony gorgeous enough for any sane person to enjoy. 

A sapphire and her three rubies greeted the tall Diamond, ready to predict the fate of Pink Diamond’s precious colony. 

————

Pink Diamond shifted into Rose Quartz and prepared to interrupt Blue’s important visit to Earth. She needed to show that this rebellion meant business.

She was going to take Pearl, who had been well trained to fight with a sword by now, and Spinel, who was going for moral support, because she’d rather annoy a gem to death than actually hurt any of the poor souls that dared to cross them. 

Rose left Citrine in charge of the base camp that now held around 30 more gems than before. And then gathered her two close friends for the most exciting thing they’ll probably do all week. 

Or, all year. 

————

The colony is safe, predicted the Sapphire. 

Everything is fine, hoped the Sapphire. 

She knew her ruby guards would not last the day, which meant something bad was going to happen. 

And then, something did happen. 

Something life-changing. 

Course-altering. 

Fate-sealing. 

Rose Quartz arrived with two gems at her side- a Pearl and a gem Sapphire has only seen a few of before: a Spinel. 

Two of her rubies were poofed. The Spinel did not seem to have fighting abilities, so the third ruby was not gone yet. 

Then, Rose charged at Sapphire. 

The ruby was frantic. The short red gem sprinted towards her blue counterpart, trying to do something, anything to keep her safe. 

Saving the Sapphire was the only thing in the Ruby’s mind. 

But when the Sapphire and Ruby collided, their gems began to glow. Their forms vanished, but they didn’t go back to two gems like Rose and Spinel had. 

They became one. 

A fusion. 

Of two different gems? Is that possible?

It was now. 

The fusion looked like a dream. A spastic mixture of pinks and blues. Her hair was poofy like a cloud, her faded red skin was a stark contrast to the light fluffy colors of her mess of a skirt and leggings. But the most fantastical part of this new gem was her eyes. She had three eyes, one was red, one was blue, and one was magenta. 

And she appeared out of nowhere in front of Blue Diamond’s court. 

Spinel should have been afraid, but it was so hard to be scared when this entirely new gem seemed to come together from two separate gems. She didn’t know gems could do that! It was incredible, and it looked so cool. 

Then Pearl’s hand grabbed Spinel’s shoulder, which snapped her back to the reality of all of these gems that were not happy for them to be there. 

Rose grabbed her two friends, jumped as far as she could away from the cliff using her powers, and fled the scene. 

————

A soft landing in the trees is what Rose Quartz aimed for as they descended gently below the cliff side. 

After having a successful touchdown on the forest floor, they all let out the breaths they were holding. They were safe. The mission didn’t go as planned, but they were still alive, which was equally as important. 

“So... what was that thing those two gems did? Y’know... the glowy thing?” Asked Spinel. 

“Oh, that was called fusion,” replied Pearl. “It happens mostly between two or more of the same gem, because gems that fuse with other gem types end up getting shattered.”

“Sh-shattered? Then why’d we leave those two up there, with a Diamond?!”

“I... don’t know. I guess I wasn’t thinking. I just wanted you two to be safe.” Said Rose, looking at her hands. 

“It’s okay, Rose, I’m sure they’re fine.” Said Pearl. 

But what if they’re not? Thought Spinel. 

“Anywho, why’d you ask about fusion? I thought all gems knew what that was.” Said Pearl. 

“I had no idea what that was actually called until today. I’ve almost fused before though, I guess.” Said Spinel, holding her thumb and pointer finger to her chin to symbolize that she was thinking. 

“What? With who? I’ve literally known you since the moment you began to exist!” 

“With Ro- Uhm never mind. It’s not important.” Spinel flinched at her mistake. 

“With... Rose?” Asked the now-concerned Pearl. 

“No! Uhh... I mean, I don’t think that’s what it was?” Said Rose. “I’ve never... actually fused before, but I still don’t think so.”

Pearl sat in an awkward silence, as if she was trying to choose her words carefully. 

“Okay, so maybe it was fusion, but it didn’t work. We never even became a fusion, we just glowed a little.” Said Rose, trying to back the situation out of the hole it dived into. 

“Yeah, it was nothing, Pearl, don’t worry.” Said Spinel, at an alarming level of quietness for a usually boisterous gem. 

A Pearl opened her mouth to speak, the bushes began to rustle behind the trio. The tall white gem pulled her sword out of her sheath and prepared to protect her friends. 

And there she was. 

The fusion from earlier! She had stumbled out of a bush.

She’s okay! But what was she doing down here? Thought Rose. 

Pearl pointed her sword at the fusion. 

“Please don’t hurt her! Or us... me?” Said the cotton candy-like gem. 

————

The fusion had no idea what they were doing. Constantly tripping over their own feet, not knowing what to do with their hands, and not even knowing their name. They think they want to be called Garnet. But they don’t know. 

How do you not know your own name? Thought Pearl, projecting her saltiness about the whole “Spinel and Rose almost fusing” thing into the situation in front of her. 

Today was very flustering, and Pearl just wanted to go back to their base camp. 

————

Garnet had been sitting on a patch of grass just outside camp, staring at the gems on her hands for a while, pondering her existence, when Spinel came over to cheer her up. 

“How’s it going?” Asked the little pink gem, sitting down on a rock. 

“We-I’m okay. Just have a lot of questions, even though Rose Quartz told me not to question... whatever I am.” 

“You’re a person, and my new friend! It’s okay to be curious, I think. Rose knows what she’s doing though, so you should trust that everything is going to be ok.”

“You really think so?”

“I mean, maybe? I’m not good at advice.”

Garnet laughed; maybe out of fear, maybe out of uncertainty, but maybe also because she’s happy to have a friend that’s just as confused as her. 

————

Rose decided to talk to Spinel again about what happed at the lake that one time. 

The whole “almost fusing” thing. 

“Hey.” Rose said, sitting next to Spinel at the same lake as before. 

“Hey. How’s it going?”

“Well, I have to go back to the moon base and do Diamond-y things, but first, I want to set the record straight.”

“How so?”

“Well, I thought that you might still be confused about fusion, just a little.”

“Yeah. It’s funny, we’ve said the word fusion so much today it doesn’t sound like a word anymore.”

Rose let out a small laugh. “You’re right.”

A small pause. 

“... why did we start to fuse?”

A longer silence. 

“I... don’t know. But everything happens for a reason. Whatever we did on accident, wasn’t for no reason.”

“That doesn’t make any sense?”

“I know, I know. I guess what I’m trying to say is that we should actually try to fuse sometime. It could be fun.”

Spinel widened her eyes. Was she serious? I thought she was upset?

“Really?”

“Yeah. I mean, it doesn’t have to be now.”

“But it could be now?”

“... Yeah, I mean, I’ve got a half an hour before I’m needed somewhere.”

“Okay... what did we do last time to get it to work?”

“Uhm, maybe, we have to be laughing again?”

“But Garnet wasn’t happy when they fused, they were scared.”

“Hmm.” Said Rose. “Maybe this was a stupid idea.”

“Rose, hardly any of your ideas are stupid.” Spinel placed a hand on her friend’s shoulder. “We’ll figure it out. It could be now, it could be in like a thousand years. It’s not that important.”

“I guess you’re right. Thanks, Spins.” Rose side-hugged her small friend. 

A bright light enveloped the pair again. This time, it was less harsh and more soft. There forms melded together to create a beautiful harmony through their new appearance. 

A fusion of their own. 

A very tall and curvy woman stood where Spinel and Rose just were. Her two gems positioned on her torso, almost forming an exclamation point. 

The top over her outfit was long-sleeved with holes in the shoulders. The sleeves were long enough to cover the palms of the fusion’s many hands, and there was thumb holes on each sleeve. Her skirt was knee length the in the front, but touched the ground in the back. There was layer upon layers of poofy salmon pink fabric. 

Her dark dusty rose skin illuminated cream-colored hair that sat in two high curly pigtails on top of her head. A few strands of hair were worn loose as bangs, which framed her two sets of copper-tinted irises. 

Her name? She knew it almost immediately. Rhodochrosite- the Stone of the Compassionate Heart. 

Needless to say, this was a fun way to kill 30 minutes.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This article about Rhodochrosite is very interesting you should check it out:)
> 
> https://thehealingchest.com/crystals-stones/rhodochrosite-meaning/
> 
> Anyways, as per usual feel free to send me some feedback! I appreciate it!
> 
> Love you guys!  
-Ren


	9. Who We Are

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> When Pink Diamond is busy, Pearl learns how to shapeshift into Rose Quartz. Spinel wonders if a gem like herself could be good at fighting.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I say this every time, but thank you for all the love and support aggh
> 
> I love you guys and I hope you enjoy this chapter!
> 
> -Ren

Spinel enjoyed her time at the rebellion’s base camp. It’s been recently more fun around there, too because of Garnet; she was a welcome addition to the group. Spinel didn’t have a lot in common with her tall friend, but that’s what made things more interesting. 

Garnet slowly became more confident with herself. She was a surprisingly fantastic fighter, her gauntlet gem weapons really amplified her strength as well. Sometimes, though, Ruby and Sapphire would unfuse and just hang out separately. Those days were nice too, because there was double the friends for Spinel and the others to hand around with. 

Everyone at camp enjoyed the company of the semi-permanent fusion that joined their ranks; they even made her a head guard of their quickly growing base after only a few weeks of her being there. 

On a sunny day with the brightest blue sky, Spinel and Garnet were patrolling the edge of the camp together. Technically, Garnet was patrolling. Spinel did help as a lookout, though she was determined not to hurt anyone. 

Spinel was shaped like a friend, not a soldier... right?

Spinel admired Garnet’s newest reformation as she patrolled the area. Her hair was now a dark red, but still poofy, and flowed in the breeze so elegantly. Her pastel color scheme was a faint memory, but the outfit style was the virtually the same- minus the holes that once dotted the fabric. 

The pair of friends stopped at one of the edges of their patrol route, as they would often do, to talk to another gem on duty and exchange information. This was uneventful most of the time, and Spinel, as bored as she was, took to picking flowers and weaving them into little crowns or necklaces- that was her favorite thing to do. 

A single yellow butterfly landed on Spinel’s head. She smiled as she placed a pink flower necklace on an unsuspecting Garnet. 

————

Pink Diamond had not been able to shapeshift into Rose Quartz for a while now. She and Pearl were stuck on her moon base until further notice- strict orders from Yellow Diamond. 

The gems at the rebel base were surely worried by now. She had told the gems that she was on a “scout mission.” She had to use that excuse almost every time she needed to come back here. 

Nobody but Pearl and Spinel knew about her double life, and Spinel is at the camp, so the only one that’s here who she can talk to is...

That’s it!

Pearl can shape shift too! She can be Rose for her. She turned Pearl, who was standing at the side of her small throne. 

“Pearl, can I ask you for a favor?”

“What is it, my Diamond?”

————

“I don’t get it.”

“What dont’cha get, Garnet?”

“Why won’t you fight anyone? I mean, we’re fighting against some really bad people, and you still don’t want to hurt them?”

Spinel realizes Homeworld is coming at them stronger every time they plan attacks. Every time they win a battle now, they loose a few of their own gems to a device called a rejuvenator- a weapon that will reset a gem to how they were made. 

For some reason, it breaks her heart to know that she hurt someone- even if that someone is bad. She just can’t bring herself to cause others pain. 

Spinel realizes she didn’t respond to Garnet’s question. 

“I... don’t know? I just feel really bad whenever I think about trying to harm anyone.”

“What if they caused harm to us? You know they’re trying to attack us- I was almost shattered for being a fusion of two different gems. What if they, I don’t know, tried to hurt Rose Quartz? Would you feel different then?”

Yes, was Spinel’s answer, though she didn’t say it out loud. If Rose was ever poofed, everyone would know she was Pink Diamond. Rose told her that can’t happen. 

“I guess I’d never thought about it that way.” Answered the little pink gem. 

“That’s okay. I didn’t mean to push too much, I just want you to at least know how to fight, even if not to hurt others, but to defend yourself. Just think about it, I don’t want you to get taken away too.”

Oh boy, did Spinel think. It was very a quiet walk as they headed back to camp. 

————

Pearl gaped at Pink. 

Was she serious? Pretend to be Rose? What a funny joke. Please be joking, thought Pearl. 

“You’ll be fine! Nobody will know, you’re as good of a fighter as me, and as long as you don’t say anything it’ll be ok!”

“I... guess I can try.”

“That’s my Pearl. You can do it, I know you can!”

Pearl closed her eyes and focused. She had never shapeshifted before, much less her entire form into a new gem. 

Suddenly, Pearl’s small form began to glow and change. An almost identical clone of Rose Quartz was now standing where Pearl once was. 

“Ooh, very nice Pearl!” Said Pink, lightly clapping her hands, “Do you think you can hold it long enough to take down that spaceship yard we’ve been planning to attack?”

“I should be able to. We’ll see.” Said Pearl, who was having a hard time getting used to being taller and having thick, long hair like Rose. 

“Okay! Good luck then!”

And off she went. 

————

When Garnet and Spinel reached the center of the camp again, they noticed that Bismuth was out of her forge, which never happens. 

It must be a special occasion then, thought Spinel. 

And a special occasion it was. Rose has come back after two weeks of disappearing and leaving Spinel in charge. It was always more chaotic when the gem that hated conflict lead the group of warrior rebels. It was nice to see her back. 

Something felt... off. First of all, Rose wasn’t saying anything, just nodding and smiling. 

Spinel also noticed the lack of Pearl at Rose’s side. 

“Rose?”

The blush colored soldier turned around to face her friend and smiled. 

“Uhh... is something wrong?”

Rose Quartz looked around, saw that nobody was paying attention to them, and gestured over to a large bush. 

“Over there?”

Spinel was suddenly behind a bush with Rose, who put a finger to her mouth so signal silence and began to shapeshift. Spinel was confused.

“Rose, I don’t think this is a good idea-“

But this time, the rebellion’s leader didn’t turn into Pink Diamond. 

It was Pearl. Pearl was Rose. If that was true, where was the real Rose Quartz? Spinel’s mind leaped to crazy conclusions. 

“Spinel, everything is okay,” Said Pearl, reading the small pink gem’s worried expression, “Rose was busy, and she needed me to shapeshift into... her. We need to attack a spaceship loading dock to prevent more gems from entering the colony.”

“And we couldn’t wait for Pink?”

“She wanted us to go without her.”

“Oh, ok. Let’s go then!”

————

It was a medium-sized group. Enough people to get some real damage done, but not so many that it was hard to keep track of. 

Just Spinel, “Rose”, Garnet, Bismuth, a few amethysts, a dark green peridot, and Clear Quartz. 

The loading yard was huge. It had about 10 dock areas, each had their own geometrically shaped building made of glass. The Diamond insignia was plastered all over the banners that hung from light posts. 

The sun was setting, which was a great time for some hijinks. The fiery orange looked beautiful in harmony with a pink-tinted building they were about to put out of service. 

The mission was simple; mess up the communicators and other various pieces of technology to prevent contact between here and other Homeworld colonies. 

Spinel went first, tripping a few quartz guards by stretching her foot out. Their amethysts then shapeshifted back into a normal soldier’s outfit and replaced the two guards. 

The amethysts would then convince the rest of the guards to “help” with the unloading of a ship, far away from where they were supposed to guard. 

The peridot would mess up the power source to the dock. “Rose” and Bismuth were guarding the area, while Garnet and Clear Quartz would start breaking things. 

Spinel was apologizing to the unconscious quartz guards as she tied them up. She didn’t want to poof them, even if Rose’s sword would have made it easy to do so. 

Everything went well, until it didn’t. 

One of the dock’s many jasper guards noticed the loud noises and power outages. The first gems the guard came across were easy to recognize as rebels; Garnet and Clear Quartz were wearing their star-patterned outfits as they proudly smashed control panels. 

The guard withdrew a weapon from her gem- it was an orange-tinted axe.

She swung for Garnet. 

She instead hit Clear Quartz, who had shoved the fusion far out of the way to protect her. 

Clear was poofed. The jasper wasn’t done, though. The orange and yellow gem knew the rules about what to do with a rebellious gem who stepped out of line. 

Clear Quartz’s gem was hit square in the middle with the axe many times. 

One of the very first members of the rebellion was shattered, right in front of her closest friends. 

Spinel and Garnet were right there, and saw what had happened to their colleague. 

Rose Quartz stepped in in front of her shocked friends she poofed the jasper with her sword. Bismuth saw that Spinel was crying and put an arm around the small heart-shaped gem. 

By the time the two amethysts came back and the peridot was done with her job, it was about time to start running away. 

The mission was a success, but at what cost?

————

A week later, the real Rose Quartz returned. The only person who knew the difference was Spinel, who had to inform her what had happened. Pearl was back to her normal self. 

Well, as normal as it could get after the loss of their companion. 

On a dark and rainy night, the rebellion’s gem’s were sitting in the warmth of Bismuth’s large forge. The strong, rainbow-haired gem made a memorial plaque for the first death of the war. Everyone in the room knew it wouldn’t be the last. 

Then, came a voice everyone knew well. Spinel. 

“I... have an idea.” Said the gem. “What if we named our rebellion... after her?”

There was little other noise besides the faint rain sounds and the bubbling of molten metal. 

“How so?” Asked Rose Quartz. 

“Maybe... we could be the Crystal Gems, because of Crystal Clear Quartz.” Spinel said her now-gone friend’s name very quietly. 

“That sounds lovely,” Said Pearl. 

“I love that name!” Said a soft reassuring voice. 

“Sounds good,” Said another gem. 

More gems nodded and agreed. 

“It seems like we have a name now.” Said Rose, “I’m surprised we didn’t have one sooner.”

A cheer of happiness came from most gems in the room. The ones closest to Spinel gave the little pink heart gem a big hug. 

The rest of the night was spent remembering their lost friend.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I am big sad ;~;
> 
> Thank you for reading! Sorry this one took so long!
> 
> If you have any suggestions or feedback let me know!
> 
> Cya!  
-Ren


	10. Do it For Her

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> On the battlefield  
Where everything is chaos  
And you have nothing but the way you feel  
Your strategy and a sword  
Think about the life you’ll have  
Together after the war

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you again for all the kudos and love! You guys motivate me so much! I’m sorry for the slower uploading pace, high school sucks ;~;

In Spinel’s eyes, Pearl was perfect. Besides their rocky beginning, the tall white gem had been nothing but sophisticated, and to top it off, she was excellent with a sword. Rose Quartz seemed to notice this, too, and even made Pearl blush as she pointed out her skill. 

Pearl was so determined to fight for Rose’s honor. Spinel felt their relationship was different than before. She couldn’t put a finger on it, but it was almost stronger than being best friends. It could be seen with the Ruby and Sapphire that form Garnet; and it was obviously there in the way Pearl looks at Rose with a certain glimmer in her eyes. Spinel had never felt the strange thing herself, but she did find it pretty magical nonetheless. 

————

The gem war was picking up. Spinel felt as though it had been years since they did anything but battle other gems. It was heartbreaking for the little heart-shaped gem to see so much shattering and discord in one place. 

Most of the Crystal Gems were away, fighting, which left Spinel and a quaint of maybe 40 other gems to guard their camp and wait. To say the least, the little pink gem was a wreck. She had no idea how they were doing. Pearl had already been poofed so many times because of her protective nature over Rose, and although Spinel knew why she kept taking the hit for their friend, it still broke her heart to have to sit by her friends gem and wait for her to reform. Her closest companions were still out there, taking their enemies down with one quick swish of a blade. 

There was the sound of shuffling feet behind where Spinel was standing, and the middle of a conversation was heard. 

“What if we... I don’t know... helped fight?” Said a far away voice who resembled that of an agate. 

“We can’t leave Spinel here alone! Besides, it’s our job to defend the base.” Replied another faint voice- a peridot this time. 

“From who? Every gem in the whole galaxy is out on that battlefield! There’s nobody to protect this base from.”

“If you’re so sure, why don’t you go ask her then? I’m not going to get in trouble with one of the main leaders around here so you can go poof some quartzes.”

Spinel took her job seriously. She appreciated the fact that she was respected as a member of the Crystal Gems without having to participate in the battling part. She would not let other people talk her out of doing what Rose asked her to do. 

“Uhm... Hey, Spinel, can we talk?” Asked the agate-shaped gem from earlier. From close up, Spinel could see her yellow coloration. 

“Sure!” Spinel cheerily replied, though she knew what was going to be asked of her and planned to refuse. Nicely, of course. 

“I was wondering... why don’t we go fight with the rest of the Crystal Gems? I think they could use our help? There really isn’t anything to do here.”

“You might be right, but we were told to stay here and guard our camp, silly! Do you really want to go against Rose Quartz’s orders?”

The agate looked down. “I... guess not.”

Spinel didn’t mean to make her peer upset. 

“Don’t worry! If Rose needs us, she can be here pretty fast with her floaty powers!” She said with a warm smile and small jazz hands. 

The other gem returned a very strained smile and stiff nod. It seems like the small group of gems was not going near the battlefield anytime soon. 

————

Rose’s new sword worked perfectly. Any time an enemy dared to even look at her she could easily strike them down with her personalized silvery pink blade. It’s so ironic that the fighting lessons Yellow Diamond had given to Pink were backfiring so extremely without the giant space tyrant even knowing. 

Pearl was a genuine surprise. She was there to pick up the slack of gems on their side who were injured. Of course, Rose could heal cracked gems, but it’s hard in the heat of battle to meticulously cry over someone’s gemstone. Even if they had managed to build a healing fountain, it was miles away from any sort of gem life and was therefore hard to access. 

An abrupt amount of gems were poofed. Pearl shouted something, which gathered Rose’s attention. 

Suddenly, Rose had been singled out. There was only a few Crystal Gems who hadn’t been poofed or chased away, and there weren’t anywhere near the pair. Pearl did everything to try to reach her, managing to poof five gems in the span of a few minutes, but eventually, there was no other option. 

Rose jumped up, and floated far away out of the sight of any other gem. 

————

The sun was in the middle of the sky now, and it would probably be bright outside, if not for the dense cloud cover that seemed to swallow the whole camp in a veil of fake nighttime. Spinel hated the dark. Well, she hated most things that weren’t a game of hide and seek. 

Why couldn’t things just work out? She thought, probably more about the war than some silly clouds. 

The sky did suddenly get darker. Spinel looked up, and found a familiar pink colored quartz floating down towards her. 

“R-Rose? Is that you?”

“Yep! And I need your help. Help me gather the rest of us.”

“Sure thing!”

The aforementioned agate was ready to go, and had already summoned some type of pale yellow, katana-looking sword. The peridot from earlier that day was also there- though she wielded a weapon that Bismuth had made for her- a set of small lime green daggers that looked silly on the tall gem. 

There was an unsure pyrope who had a death grip on a firey red staff like it was the end of the world. Citrine seemed to calm her down, and had pulled a pair of orange Chinese-style fans from her gem to show that she was ready. 

Spinel shifted uncomfortably. Though her friends were ready to go, she hadn’t had an ounce of fighting practice. That’s when Rose turned to her and offered one of her pale hands to the small gem. 

“Wait, what?” Spinel scratched her head at the gesture. 

Rose giggled. “I think we need the help of... someone else.”

“Who?”

“You know... Rhodochrosite,” whispered the tall pink quartz. 

“Ohhhhh, I get it!” Spinel smiled and took her best friend’s hand. 

The other gems in their party were confused. Why were their two leaders dancing?

Spinel was spun around by Rose and landed in a sort of hug. As the two embraced each other, their forms began to twist and glow. 

There stood a very giant woman. 

————

Swish. 

Clink. 

A battle cry. 

The fight was exhausting. The Crystal Gems only had so much surplus of energy and troops, while Homeworld had many. 

Garnet looked around. Her friends were safe, but surrounded by a bunch of homeworld gems in the middle of a barren battlefield. Okay, maybe it’s not that safe. 

Pearl was giving it her all. Bismuth had joined her, and launched the pale gem into the air to slice the forms of a handful of quartz soldiers of varying colors. 

Clank. 

Poof. 

A gasp of awe. 

Suddenly, a whole new group of Crystal Gems flew through the air. There was maybe thirty new gems here to help. One gem in particular looked new. 

Who is that? Thought Pearl, and most likely many others. 

Garnet recognized a fusion when she saw it. This mystery woman had two gems, four arms, and a lot of energy. She recognized the eyes of her friends Rose Quartz and Spinel immediately. 

The fusion towered over almost every homeworld gem, being a staggering 10 feet tall. She seemed to reach one of her sleeve covered hands over to her heart shaped gemstone and pulled out some sort of magenta wand with a circled shaped hole at the top. 

Really?

What is that thing?

Another one of the fusion’s hands swiped over the whole, covering it with some glossy, transparent magical substance. 

She blew into the hole, and bubbles came out. 

Homeworld gems were cackling to themselves, until one carnelian was cocky enough to touch a bubble, and was poofed on impact. Her gem was suddenly concealed in the bubble, which was floating just slightly above reach. 

There was surely panicking now. The fusion smiled, though her bigger more cartoonish pair of eyes seemed to be shut, like she didn’t want to see the trouble she was causing. The other more horizontal eyes reflected the mischievous gaze of a motivated quartz. 

The battle was over in a matter of a few hours after that, resulting with the temporary retreat of the Homeworld soldiers. 

The question on everyone’s mind that night was simple: who was that mystery gem?

———

The question was promptly answered to the Crystal Gems as the giant woman unfused before their eyes. 

There stood a triumphant Rose Quartz and an upset Spinel. 

“That was amazing, Spinel, did you see us?” Exclaimed Rose. 

“Yeah I did.” Replied Spinel. “We hurt people.”

“People who would have totally hurt us if you guys weren’t there.” Said Garnet, pushing her new blue visor further up on her nose. 

“But we-“

“Did the right thing.” Said Rose, finishing Spinel’s thought. 

“Trust me, you did great things for a great reason.” Said Bismuth, parting the small gem on her back.”

“I asked you, and you went with it. For me. Thank you, Spinel.” Rose offered a smile. 

“I- yeah. I did. And I guess everything worked out, huh?”

The gems around them cheered. 

“W-what was that?” Said a new voice. Pearl. 

“Fusion?” Answered Garnet, perplexed. 

“But they said they weren’t- never mind.” Pearl shuffles her foot in the dirt and bit her cheek. The gems turned their focus back to the pair of friends that just unfused. 

“Who was she? The fusion, I mean.” Asked Garnet.

“Yeah, does she have a name?” Said Citrine. 

“Oh, yes! Rhodochrosite.” Said Rose, beaming. 

As they walked back to camp, Rose and Spinel talked about their experience with the rest of the Crystal Gems, not realizing that Pearl was nowhere to be found.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter is going to be kind of two parts so I’ll see you in the second part!
> 
> Thanks for the read! I love you guys agahahahh   
As always, give me any sort of feedback or question you may have! I try to answer every comment :)
> 
> -Ren


	11. Do It For Her (Part 2)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Pearl finally gets a chapter mostly to herself lol

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hi! I’m so sorry this took to long! It isn’t even a long chapter, I just procrastinated! Agggh

Pearl was lost. 

She had ran so far away she didn’t know where she was. Not that it mattered. She had decided she wouldn’t be missed. 

She can’t believe that Spinel and Rose Quartz lied to her. 

Is she still in Rose’s favor at all? Was that also a lie?

She thought long and hard as her feet dangled off the edge of a floating island-shaped platform. 

————

The Crystal Gems decided to hang out at their base camp after their long battle- it had lasted a few days and everyone needed a well-deserved break. 

“Haha!” Laughed a gem that was reminiscing a training session they all once shared. “Remember when Pearl-“

“Wait, where is Pearl?” Said Spinel, who just came to remember her missing friend after a very chaotic hour of her life. 

“I though she was with Bismuth?” Rose said. 

“Nope. I thought she was with you.” Said Bismuth. 

“Has anyone seen her since we got back?” Asked Spinel. 

Every gem shook their heads. 

“Well, lets go look for her then!”

Spinel’s friends all exchanged hesitant looks. They had no idea where Pearl could be. She could have gotten anywhere by now. 

Spinel only wished she had realized sooner. 

“We have to do something! We can’t just leave her out there, alone.” Said she. “What if she got caught by a Homeworld gem?”

“You’re right, Spinel.” Said Rose Quartz. “We need to find Pearl.”

Pearl is so close to Spinel, how could she have let her friend go missing? She felt terrible. 

Hopefully it’s not too late. 

————

It was getting dark, and Pearl was starting to worry if her friends would ever realize that she was missing. 

Were they ever her friends to begin with? They seemed to forget her pretty easily. 

She just wished they told her the truth. Everything she does, she does for Rose. And what does she get back? 

The fact that Rose’s other friend happened to have a closer bond with her? That they fused? Is that what this is about?

That can’t be it. 

Oh, but it is. 

Pearl was jealous. Of what? Spinel and Rose were obviously just friends. Pearl and Rose were just... friends. 

But what if there was more feelings there...?

Her thoughts were cut short by the rustling of the tree leaves. Pearl draws her spear from the gem in her forehead.

Who found her? 

What if it’s Homeworld gem? 

What if it’s...

It’s...

Rose?

Rose Quartz comes out of the bushes, covered in leaves and wearing a worried frown on her face. Pearl dissipates her weapon and sighs, relieved to see that Rose does care about her. 

However, she internally groans when Spinel inches out from the shrubs too. 

This day could not get worse for Pearl. 

————

“We’re so glad you’re safe!” Said Rose, bear-hugging a now-blushing Pearl.

“I’m so sorry!” Says Spinel. The pale white gem only glares at her. Spinel promptly decides to fixate on a blade of grass in front of her, with the knowledge that she kind of of ruined a moment. 

Rose clears her throat, and stands strategically between Pearl and Spinel, blocking each other’s view from their opposite. The pale Rose smiles and puts her hands in Pearl’s. 

“Are... you okay?” She asks. 

“I- I don’t know.” Replies Pearl. 

“Do you want to talk about it? Or should I leave you to the mercy of being alone at night in the middle of the woods?”

“The woods would be preferable, actually.”

Rose snorts. Very unbecoming of a disguised monarch, notes Pearl. Though, she knows very well that Rose is so much more than that. 

“Pearl. I’m so sorry.” Says Spinel again, this time slower, more quiet and sincere. 

“How can you say that?” Pearl says, letting her hands fall out of Rose Quartz’s grip. 

“B-because I am? I didn’t mean to break my promise. I really didn’t. And I know that wasn’t very nice of me.” Spinel mutters, her foot twisting in the dirt. 

Rose steps back, using her floating powers to not disrupt this fragile intervention from happening. 

Spinel steps closer to Pearl, and Pearl promptly takes another step back. 

“Spinel, I’m not mad. I’m just... very disappointed.” Says the pearlescent gem, crossing her arms. 

Ouch. 

“I... thought you would be. If my promises still mean anything, I can promise not to fuse. Not with Rose, not even anyone else. I don’t even want to do that again, not after I hurt people.”

“Spinel... I can’t just ask you to not do... whatever that was ever again, but, what I do want you to do,” Replies Pearl,” is always tell the truth with me. No lies. We are the only ones who know Rose’s secret, and I don’t think we should keep things from each other.” 

“Are you going to forgive me?”

“I don’t know. I don’t want to right now, but I might... later. Just maybe let me be alone with Rose and we’ll see, okay?” Pearl smiles the teeniest, tiniest amount, but it’s enough to get Spinel to do anything for her. 

“Sure, no problem! Thank you!” She whisper-yells. 

And with that, Spinel stretched through the trees all the way home, promising that she won’t ever do anything to hurt her friends ever again. 

————

Now it was just Rose Quartz and Pearl, sitting calmly under a bright moonlit sky, dangling their legs from the platform’s edge. 

All alone, with Rose, sighs Pearl, though she doesn’t say this out loud. Afraid to ruin the moment, she scoots closer to her tall blush-colored friend. She could get used to this. Rose leans back, putting one of her arms just behind Pearl and the other arm positioned the same way, but instead of Pearl, there is open air. 

Maybe, in another time, Spinel should have been there. But today, the heart-shaped gem was not going to ruin Pearl’s first alone time in a long time with her precious Rose. 

The cool night air was calming, and thought gems don’t need to breathe, Pearl takes a deep breath inward. 

“What a nice night.” Says the pale gem, suddenly stiff from Rose’s arm being so close to wrapping around her. 

“What an odd way to start a conversation with someone you’re mad at.” Muses Rose. 

“Wha- mad? I could never be mad at you!” Splutters Pearl. 

“Huh. I thought you sent Spinel away so that you could tell me I’m irresponsible alone.”

“Why would you think that?” Pearl says, completely winded from Rose’s words. 

“Really? How do you not think that? And most importantly, why do you want to talk to me then?”

“I... don’t think you’re irresponsible. And I though we were close enough for you to know I would never think bad about you. I just thought,” Pearl flushes a light pink color,” we could talk... alone?”

Rose Quartz relaxes. “Is that it? Thank goodness! I am so tired of people telling me how wrong I am all of the time! It’s not even just Blue and Yellow, it’s some of the Crystal Gems too!” Despite this being depressing news, Rose is laughing about it. Pearl musters a few awkward “heh”’s. 

“Well I thought I needed to talk, but it seems you need to, too?” Says Pearl. 

“Hmm. I guess you’re right. Nobody really ever asks me how I’m doing. 

Without hardly realizing it, the two gems talked until the sun rose the next morning.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks for reading! I appreciate you guys to much! And, as per usual, I’d live feedback or suggestions!
> 
> <3  
-Ren


	12. Off Balance

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> It seems like everyone but Spinel is stressed right now.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hi! I’m not dead lol, just too lazy for my own good. Thank you for all the love in this fic!
> 
> Enjoy!
> 
> -Ren

For the most part, things went back to normal the next day at camp. Whenever Pearl passed by, people ushered quick welcome backs her way, and she showed them her perfectly practiced smile. 

Rose Quartz had to leave again, to fulfill the duties she has to do as her sad other side, also known as Pink Diamond. Pearl doubted anyone would notice. For not needing sleep, the other gems sure did seem tired after their long battle a few days ago, which meant that they wouldn’t be paying close enough attention to see Rose slip away; and Spinel was nowhere to be seen, so she wasn’t a concern. 

Pearl heard that Spinel and Garnet were out climbing to Bismuth’s forge, which was in somewhat of an active volcano, so it would probably keep them busy all day. 

And the best part is that Spinel even let Pearl be in charge. Everything would go according to Pearl’s plan, for once. 

What a beautiful day. 

————

Spinel was walking alongside Garnet- well more like clinging to her leg, but nonetheless keeping her friend company. She wanted to give Pearl space, as to not upset her again. The feeling of letting someone down was almost worse than physical pain to the little pink gem. 

Garnet stopped dead in the middle of the road they were traversing and adjusted her visor. The hot summer sun was beating down on the pair of gems, and when mixed with the volcanic heat and the long, miserable road, the path to Bismuth’s forge was no joke. While Garnet was very strong and somewhat fireproof, her companion with heart-shaped hair was sweltering. 

“Everything ok?” Garnet looked down at her friend, who was practically shapeshifting her form to try and stay in the shade of Garnet’s shadow. 

“Everything’s a-ok!” Spinel replied, attempting to stand up straight. Her legs were wobbly, however, and she promptly melted to the floor. “I’m just a teensy bit warm, is all.”

“Do you want me to carry you?” Garnet held out her ruby-gemmed hand. 

Spinel straightened up. “Yes, please!” She took her friend’s hand and was hoisted up to sit on her shoulders. 

The rest of the climb up the volcanic mountain was filled with conversation of the mysterious item they were going to pick up from the forge. 

“Rose sent us to get it, so it must be important!” Said Spinel. 

“Maybe, but I wonder where she is? Could she not get it herself?”

“Hmm, yeah, that’s a little odd. But, she is the leader of the Crystal Gems, and that might take up a lot of her time!” Spinel said, realizing that suspicion could lead to Garnet finding out Rose’s secret. 

“Well... you lead us most of the time, and you always manage to hang out with us and do your job at the same time.”

“That’s because I make working fun, but I’m not a leader. I’m not the leader.”

“Hmm, true. I... probably shouldn’t question anything.” Garnet focused her eyes away from the gem in her shoulders and stared intently at the road ahead of them. 

They were almost there. 

————

Pink Diamond massaged her forehead. Having to solve the problems that she caused is actually really hard. Gems pour into her throne room to ask her what do do about the rebels. 

To be honest, she gives them bad advice. Gazing out the window into the vastness of space fills her with uneasiness. It’s like outer space is... claustrophobic? That doesn’t seem like the right word. Pink missed being on Earth. Being Rose. Having real friends who really cared about her. Everyone here is required to listen to her, and it sucks. 

She figured she’d try to call Blue Diamond again, just to ask her one more time to consider leaving Earth alone. If nothing else, at least it’s not some boring task, like sorting gems by color or any other form of busywork. 

As the little pink light of her communicator flickers to life, she dismisses the few gems that are close enough to hear her. 

“Oh! Good afternoon, Pink! How are you today?” Blue Diamond looks down at her with patient eyes. 

“Hey- er- hello, Blue. I’m doing... fine. How are things for you?”

“Lovely. Thank you. Why have you called today?”

“I just wanted to update you on my colony’s rebellion. It’s getting worse, and I’m worried. Can’t we just... give them what they want?” Pink begs. Her tall blue counterpart shifts in her chair. 

Pink realizes she’s loosing her. ”They’re destroying everything we try to build.” She continues. “They’re defeating all of my forces. And they’re making me feel... uncertain about my authority.”

“We’ve been through this, Pink. You cannot let people push you around. You are a Diamond, which does not seem obvious to you, but you are, and you need to act like one. Be a leader, and take command.”

“You sound like Yellow.” The pink gem crosses her arms. 

“Well, I guess I have been talking to her a lot recently, but she still has a point. Be assertive, Pink. I believe in you.”

“So... that’s a no then?”

Blue sighs. “Yes, that means no. Now, get ahold of your colony before we have to take it away from you, okay?” She smiles thinly.

The little diamond nods. “Understood. See you, Blue.” She reaches for the button on the side of the screen that turns the call off. 

“Goodbye!”

The faint pink and purple light recedes, leaving Pink Diamond alone in her large throne room with the only light coming from the stars outside her window. 

She can’t do this much longer. 

She’s running out of time. 

————

Pearl smiles. With the help of her friends, namely Citrine and an obsidian of sorts, she has effectively reorganized their campsite. The weapon tents are alphabetized, and every small hut has been re-coated with a fresh camouflage of leaves and mud. 

Cleaning everything has truly calmed the pale gem down. She was glad she had some time away from Spinel to get her thoughts together. 

Spinel. Oh goodness, she never really talked to her, did she?

Perhaps she could have handled the pink ball or spontaneity a little better, but she digresses. Pearl makes a mental note to write a mini speech conveying how she feels, and continues to walk around the camp and talk to some gems about data on the last battle. 

Numbers are nice. She can depend on numbers. 

Thirty of their soldiers faced some sort of cracking or distress on their gemstones. 

That’s too many, Pearl thought, even if they have thousands on their side, nobody should get hurt. 

Their must be a more efficient way to battle. 

Pearl was determined to figure it out. 

————

The door of the forge opened with a whoosh, and a new wave of heat hit Garnet and Spinel in the face as they entered. 

“Wow...” awed Spinel. 

“Bismuth has been busy.” Garnet said, pushing up her visor again. 

“I sure have!” Echoed a loud, familiar voice. 

Bismuth casually walked into view with a large smile on her face. 

“I guess you could say... I’m back in Bismuth?” The bluish gray gem did little jazz hands as she laughed at her own joke. 

Of course, Spinel had her hands on her knees, laughing like there’s no tomorrow. 

“I don’t... what?” Said Garnet. 

“Garnet...” laughed Spinel, “business rhymes with Bismuth. It’s a joke.” She smiled kindly at her tall fusion friend.

“I-uh-ohhhh.” Said Garnet. “Oh!” She chuckles. “I guess that is pretty funny.”

“Thank you.” Said Bismuth. “Now, I’m guessing you’re here for Rose’s sword?”

Garnet and Spinel exchanged looks. 

A sword? They climbed a giant volcano to get a sword? 

This better be some special weapon, thought Garnet. 

————

“How is everyone’s fighting strategy? Could we be doing something different?” Suggested Pearl to the room of assorted Crystal Gems. 

“Hmm. Maybe. We all seemed to be holding our own during battle pretty well, I don’t really know what happened.” Said Citrine. She had been one of the first members of the gem rebellion, and thus is the one in charge of battle tactics. 

“I see. We’re we outnumbered at all?”

“Only by, like, thirty gems.”

“Everyone held their section of the front line well? Which gems weren’t as effective?”

“You sound like Homeworld now.” Citrine crosses her arms. 

Pearl inhaled her next words. 

“It-it’s a valid point,” were the words Pearl decided on.

“Fine, and no. Everyone did their very best out there.”

“Then it seems, all we can do it make our best better.” Pearl put her hands on her hips. 

The gems surrounding them murmured their agreements. 

This only meant more work from the poor gems who just escaped the tyranny of the Diamond Authority. 

————

Pink Diamond wiped the hint of tears from her eyes. 

It’s all going to be okay, she reasoned with herself, the Crystal Gems will win, and her colony will be free. 

All of the flowers, and butterflies, and the humans... they’ll all be safe. 

They have to be. 

Or Pink won’t know what to do with herself. 

She’s tried convincing the other Diamonds that the life forms on Earth were worthwhile, and they responded with stealing humans from their homes and forcing them to live in a small enclosed zoo. Well, the human zoo was huge, but still smaller than what those poor people were used to. 

Pink also thinks about all of the Rose Quartzes that were bubbled away at the same zoo, just because they shared the same gem type as the Crystal Gems’ leader. Their jobs were easily replaced by Amethysts and Carnelians. 

Can it be, that the only thing Homeworld does is steal? And destroy? And...

Replace?

If they found out that Pink Diamond masqueraded as the rebellious Rose Quartz, would she be replaced?

Probably, she thought, Blue and Yellow would be furious, and she could even imagine what White Diamond would do. 

She shivers. It’s best she never finds out. 

But still, in the back of her mind, she knows of another option. 

She’s too afraid to even think about it all that much, as if any gem could look at her and read her thoughts. 

Pink Diamond plays a dangerous game. 

The reward? Living free on Earth.

The risk? Everyone she loves.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you for reading!
> 
> As always, let me know if any feedback you have for me, or spelling mistakes that I made! 
> 
> Love you guys so much!
> 
> -Ren


	13. A Budding Rose

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A sword. A party. A plan.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hi! I know it’s been a whole month since I wrote the last chapter, I just got really lazy lol. Thank you for all the kudos, the email notifications I get when you give me them reminds me to write the fic hehe
> 
> Love ya!  
-Ren

“A sword?” Questioned Spinel

“Apparently, yes.” Answered Garnet, crossing her arms to look down at the pink metallic object that was laying on a pillow. 

“Is it like... special then?”

“I dunno. Bismuth didn’t say anything about it when we picked it up earlier.”

“Hmmm,” Spinel shifted her eyes back and forth between the sword and its matching, rose-themed scabbard. “Whatever, it’s not that important to me.” She looked over at her tall friend shrugged, and smiled. 

Garnet shrugged back and followed Spinel out of the small, plain tent that housed the weapon and headed towards where Pearl should be stationed. 

Maybe Rose Quartz just likes the color pink? The heart-shaped gem reasoned with herself as she walked through a worn-in forest path. 

————

When Rose came back that day, she looked different. Sad? Kind of, but more so... afraid. Pearl, from where she stood in between the quartz and the rest of the gems, could tell almost immediately that something’s wrong. 

She had to ask. “Hey Ro-“

“You’re back!” Spinel almost came out of nowhere, like she has some secret friendship-detector. 

Rose smiled at her, looking almost straight through Pearl. “Yeah, I guess so.”

Pearl deflated. Rose noticed.

“It’s nice to see you too, Pearl. I’ve heard you took charge of our camp while I was gone?” Rose offered. 

Pearl stood up straighter than before, “Yes, yes I did.”

“And you did awesome at it!” Spinel chimes in. 

Pearl glares at Spinel, causing her to shrink back. “Thanks.” She replies with an icy voice. 

Rose clears her throat, to bring attention back to her. “So, any important news?”

“Not really. I can’t figure out a more efficient way for battling our opponents.”

“Why would you be trying to look for that?”

“Too many people are getting hurt. It’s too much.” Pearl lowers her voice. 

“It’s war, Pearl, there’s going to be a lot of pain.” Rose adds, also quieter than before. 

“B-but don’t you care?”

“Of course I do, but I also trust everyone enough to hold their own well in battle.”

Pearl could catch the faint glimpse of exhaustion that glazed Rose’s eyes. 

“Yes, of course.” Pearl says, speaking at a now audible-level, and then tilts her head downwards, almost as if she did a tiny bow. 

Spinel looked from person to person- it was clear everyone was uncertain of what to do. Their fearless rebel leader was back, but they weren’t in fighting condition. It had already been a week since the last battle, and they’re still recovering. Even the faint rustling of windy tree branches makes their strongest fighters glance around nervously. 

“How about we have a little party?” Suggested Spinel. 

“What.” Deadpanned Pearl. 

“Like, just a little one.” The little pink gem held her fingers centimeters away from each other, trying to show just how small the party would be. 

“It might be a good idea.” Rose pondered. “To raise morale and such. Sure, go ahead.”

“Yes!” Said Spinel,” let’s set things up now!” She sped away, her feet squeaking as she went. 

“You heard her, lets try to have a nice evening.” Rose smiled. “Okay, Pearl?”

“Huh? Erm, yes. Sure. ‘Fun’.” Pearl grimaced. 

Rose grabbed the pale gem’s hand, who promptly blushed at the sight, and the two went off after their energetic friend. 

————

As most Crystal Gem parties go, this one was the same. There was a large bonfire in the middle of their camp, and a few gems teamed up and began to sing little songs- random notes that happened to harmonize with each other. Spinel went around doing silly little dances or juggling small rocks, trying her best to keep all of her friends in good spirits. 

It was chaotic, at best, but still fun and comforting to everyone in attendance.

Well, except for maybe Pearl.

“Could you be a bigger stick in the mud?” Said Rose. She was sat next to Pearl, and nudged her side as she tried to cheer her up. 

“I-uhh- sorry. Im not a fan of parties. They’re inefficient.”

“Are they? Look how happy everyone looks. At this rate, they may feel better tomorrow if they rest enough.”

“But they- we aren’t any better at fighting than before. What if this just happens all over again.”

“We won before, didn’t we? It will be okay. Relax, it’s not your job to worry.”

“But I want to worry.”

“That’s hard to believe.”

Pearl sighs. “Fine, I hate being worried. But, there’s just so many things to worry about that I can’t help it.”

The pink quartz ruffled Pearl’s hair. “I know, but if you can’t not worry for the sake of Spinel or all of our other friends, do it for me. Please, just take one night off.”

“For you, I can try my best.” The pale gem said, fixing her hair. 

“That’s my Pearl.”

————

Bonk!

A tiny pebble that Spinel was juggling hit her head. She giggled, taking the rock off her head and passing it to Citrine, who promptly carved a crude smiley face into the rock with her axe. 

“I love it! It’s so stupid that it’s adorable!” Laughed an obsidian gem. 

“What a beautiful waste of time!” Chuckled a peridot. “I never thought I’d have so much fun.”

Garnet had unfused into Ruby and Sapphire, not because of an argument, but simply so that the pair of gems could dance together to the music that was being sung. 

It was so beautiful to Spinel, how everyone wasn’t afraid, or worried anymore. For once, nobody was thinking about their next battle or how many ways they could be defeated in them. 

All her friends were entertained. Distracted, and happy. 

She got to do things her way, just for one night. Though it may be selfish, she finally felt free. 

But then, at the same time, there was a small sliver of doubt.

————

Rose Quartz stood up from her seat, and began to walk away from the chaotic fun that was being had, without a single word to Pearl. 

“Where are you going?” Said Pearl, who noticed her absence almost immediately. 

“Somewhere.” She said, detached like she is in some world of her own. She did not make eye contact. 

“Can I... go with you?”

“Pearl, you can shapeshift into me pretty well, right?”

“Uhm, yes, yes I can.”

“In a few days, can you do it again?”

“Sure.”

“Okay, you can come with me. I think I have a plan, and I need your advice.”

“Oh, really?” Pearl says, getting up from her seat. 

And the pair snuck off to the beige tent where the pink sword and it’s matching scabbard lay. 

And somewhere, in the middle of a big forest, there lies a pink colored gem with heart-shaped space buns who can’t find her best friends, and begins to feel scared. Of what? She has no idea. But something’s wrong. 

Something’s going to happen.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks for reading! I know it’s a short chapter, but there’s obviously something big coming up, and it’s going to be looooong 
> 
> Thanks for reading, and I’d love to hear your feedback!
> 
> -Ren


	14. A Few Drops of Rain

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Calm before the storm. Literally and Physically

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hi! I can’t thank you enough for all the hits I get on this fic. I’m so glad you guys like me ;~;  
Also sorry for the short chapter :/
> 
> Enjoy! <3  
-Ren

“You can’t tell Spinel.”

“I thought you trusted her with everything, though. Isn’t she your favorite?”

“I don’t have favorites! And besides, she... wouldn’t be able to handle it.”

“But I can? I’m just a Pearl and-“

“That is not you. You are not some derogatory term you can label yourself as.” Pearl looks at her with trusting eyes. Rose Quartz knows she can ask her for anything. 

“Please, trust me, and everything will work out.”

“Fine. I really trust you, Rose.”

The pink quartz smiles. “I really trust you too, Pearl.”

The word trust doesn’t even sound real anymore, considering the amount of times it’s thrown around in conversations between Rose and friends of her’s.

————

It’s a cloudy sunset today, it seems like it might storm. The bad feeling Spinel has hasn’t gone away, but has even gotten worse. She examines her closest friends within the Crystal Gems, with all their beautifully different profiles, and is relieved that they don’t feel worried. If all of her friends, who are battle-trained and know when trouble is coming, aren’t suspicious, then she shouldn’t be. 

“Ayy, Spinny, my gal!”

Spinel looks up and sees a familiar face. “Hi, Citrine! How was your day today?”

“Great, now that my closest friend is here!”

Spinel looks behind her. “Oh? Where is she?”

“She’s you, silly pebble!” Citrine reaches out and ruffles Spinel’s hair. 

“Oh! Thank goodness.” The little pink gem squishes a little under the pressure of such an strong noogie. “You’re... really strong.” She breathes.

“Oops!” The orange gem removes her hand. “Thanks for noticing how strong I am though.” She laughs. 

“Sure thing!” Spinel smiles a goofy grin. “Uh, can I ask you something though?”

“Yeah, anything.”

The heart shaped gem’s expression falls a little. “I feel... scared for some reason. I have no idea of what though.”

“Do you want me to help you find out? I love mysteries!” Citrine smiles, excitement in her eyes. 

Spinel and Citrine gasp at the same time. 

“Let’s go into...” Spinel begins. 

“Investigation mode!” The two say in unison. 

As they walk off into camp, Citrine starts listing phobias to her friend, who can barely hear her over the sounds of an incoming thunderstorm. 

————

Lightning flashes over a map that shows a region of Pink Diamond’s colony, and more specifically, the part of Earth where the same Diamond is planning to visit in the upcoming week. How they know this? Pink Diamond is there, plotting against herself in a room full of rebels. Of course, not as herself, but as her preferred identity, Rose Quartz. 

“Our intel says that Pink Diamond will oversee a gathering of gems that have come to visit from all around, most likely to celebrate the three thousandth- and-somethingth anniversary of Earth’s colonization.”

“Thank you, Peridot, always insightful, you are.” Rose clasps her hands together. 

The medium sized gathering of gems crams into this less than medium sized tent to listen to her speech, and also to avoid the thunderous rain. 

“I think we should prepare for an attack.” She says, finally. 

“Won’t it be heavily guarded?” Asks a red- tinted gem

“Why would Pink Diamond host a party in the middle of wartime? It sounds suspicious.” Ponders another. 

Rose stares intently at the two gems. After all, she planned the party. Butt how to make herself sound terrible? She’s got it. 

“She probably feels overly confident about her ability to squash our ‘little’ rebellion,” she says, stealing the words Yellow Diamond once used to describe the Crystal Gems, ”We have to prove her wrong.”

Weapons are raised as well as voices in agreement. 

It seems like they begin to move out to the location tomorrow, when the weather clears up. 

As the meeting ends, Rose Quartz rushes out of the tent, undetected, and lost in thought.

————

Shadows dance across the treeline. The rhythmic thrum of drums and chants come from the mix of people. 

A human village. The same village Rose has visited for a long time. They’re curious things, too. They seem to be similar to gems for the most part, but they don’t have gemstones, and can’t summon their own weapons. They’re primitive, yes, but somehow much smarter than they seem. They’re so creative- and seem to offer perspectives that Rose would never think of. 

As they dance around the fire, seemingly doing some sort of rain dance, the quartz approaches and greets them. They all say their hello’s back. 

“Have you found our family members yet?” Said one young-looking human to her. 

What? Though Rose. Oh right, the humans that were taken from their homes and put into the zoo. It was done for her, but she wanted nothing to do with it. 

“Not yet.” She lied. She couldn’t very well tell them that their missing cousins, mothers, and sons were off in some spaceship somewhere, with no chance of coming home. Human life is too short for them to worry so much. 

“But I will fix everything soon.”

“Promise?” Asks a small boy, his hand tugging at one of the ruffles on Rose’s dress. 

She puts her hand on his. “I promise.”

Thunder rolls in, and the first droplets of rain begin to drop onto their bonfire party. The human tribe begins to run back to their animal-hide tents, and Rose waves goodbye. 

————

“Maybe it’s lightning?” Says Citrine. 

“I don’t think so... but maybe.” Replies Spinel.

“Hmm. We aren’t getting anywhere. Maybe Spinels predict the future, like Sapphires? I have no idea what gems like you do, I’ve never seen another one before.”

Spinel giggles. “I don’t think that’s the case, but it does feel like something bad is going to happen.”

“Well, since you can’t predict the future, why worry? Just assume it will work itself out in time.” The orange gem says, putting an arm around her pink friend. 

“Yeah, you’re probably right.”

As lightning strikes probably way to close to their hut, they let out a small shriek in unison, and laugh it off together. 

As long as she has her friends, everything will be alright.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks for the read! Suggestions and comments are appreciated!
> 
> Love y’all  
-Ren


	15. Blossoming Hibiscus

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> s o o n

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Is this chapter edgy? Probably
> 
> Am I sorry? Probably not

“I need both of you to come with me today.” Says Rose. 

Pearl and Spinel look at each other, and then back at the pink quartz. They’re going with Pink Diamond... together?

Pearl knows what’s happening, and smiles past the lump in her throat. This is it; the end of all this fighting. 

Spinel hopes it will be an opportunity to befriend Pearl. Maybe she’ll like her a little more after this experience. 

Rose smiles reassuringly. She’s calm- she knows what she has to do to get though to the other diamonds. 

It’s the last, and most drastic, measure she’ll have to take. 

————

The storm from last night is over, leaving a slightly overcast sky in its wake. The long lush grass ripples in the wind. The pink hibiscus flowers that grow everywhere around the pink palanquin smell sweet, making it a perfect setting for a party. 

“Welcome back to Earth, my Diamond!” Says a ruby guard, saluting along with the rest of her squad. 

Pink Diamond raises a hand dismissively. “Yes, thank you, little ruby.” Her professional, colder tone of voice was long forgotten by Spinel, who shivered slightly from behind her friend. 

Pearl then steps in front of the Diamond and Spinel and gestures towards the palanquin, whose sheer curtains respond to the wind as gently as the grass. 

“This way, my Diamond.”

“Thank you, Pearl.” Pink Diamond began to take her two friends to the place where most of her plan would take place soon. 

She felt her court staring at Spinel before she saw it. Nobody would recognize her form the Crystal Gems because she was never in battle, but people would probably wonder what she was doing back at Pink Diamond’s side after so long of not being there. 

“Spinel?” Pink asks. 

“Yes? My, erm.. Diamond?” She squeaks, peaking away from where she was hiding behind Pink’s leg. 

“Your job will be to entertain my guests during my little party in a few days. Don’t mess up.” She half-heartedly threatens her, making sure she speaks just loud enough for nosy passerby to hear. 

“Yes, my Diamond,” Spinel says, making the familiar shape with her hands. 

Pink sighs. It will work out. Spinel will do her job, she’s predictable- rather... reliable, and will respond the way she’s supposed to when the plan is in action. 

All Spinel needs to do is to cry for help, warning her Diamond about Rose Quartz, so people will see, so people will know what happens.

Only stars know how chaotic things will be soon. 

————

“Can you believe them?” Pink whispers,”’my Diamond’ this and ‘my Diamond’ that. It’s all pageantry, I know they don’t like me.” She says, trying to lighten the mood a little while also being low key- an open air pavilion is not exactly a private area. 

“I don’t know how they wouldn’t like you, you’re so nice!” Says Spinel. 

Pink sighs. “I’m nice to you, maybe. To them, all they see is what I want them to see, which is probably why they don’t like me at all. I try to be scary on purpose, I guess, so they’ll listen to me.”

“Oh, Pink,” says Pearl, “they’d have to listen to you anyways. You’re a Diamond, after all.”

Pearl’s change in mood is so drastic, Spinel almost falls over. Her whole demeanor changed- she’s back to being this clingy, overly-loyal, stereotypical pearl. Even her outfit went back to the way it was- the default pearl settings and all. 

“Not for long,” the small Diamond mutters. 

“What was that?” Spinel says, probably too close to the ground to hear the whisperings of a tall gem like Pink Diamond. 

“Nothing.” She huffs. 

“Okie dokie,” says Spinel, clasping her hands together and swaying slightly back and forth. 

————

Mundane tasks are difficult to do when Pearl knows what’s going to happen. She knows this could ruin or save so many lives. Party planning isn’t Pearl’s strong suit, and it’s especially hard when she’s lost in thought. 

But there is a party planner she knows of who could help. 

But talking to her? No. Pearl doesn’t trust her. 

She glares at Spinel as the pretends to look at swatches of fabric for the banners they’re preparing. 

“This is fine,” pearl grabs a light pink fabric and hands it to the random quartz that asked for her opinion. It’s not like it will matter anyways. 

At the end of the three nights, there is dazzling flowery garland draping from light posts, which accents Pearl’s accidental fabric choice of the banners pretty well. 

“Wow, Pearl, I didn’t know you could plan parties too!” Spinel’s eyes practically reflect the party lanterns and glitter, even from the shadows of Pink Diamond’s palanquin at nighttime. 

“I don’t. Thanks, I guess, though.” She crosses her arms and stares the gem down. 

“Uh- oh-okay then,” the pink gem awkwardly shuffles away. 

“Pearl.” Says a voice, far away, but in reality only feet away. 

“Rose?” She whispers. 

“Come here,” says the shadow. 

————

“The Crystal Gems contacted me. They’re setting up a small camp a few mountains away from us.”

“So this means...”

“Pearl, tomorrow I’m going to put a lot of trust in you. Can you do it?”

Pearl looks down at her hands, the ones that will shapeshift into Rose Quartz’s and...

“Pearl, are you ready to shatter Pink Diamond?”

“Rose,” Pearl says, “I’ll do anything for you... for us... to be free.”

————

Spinel holds a shaky gloved hand over her mouth and tries not to scream, or cry, or cause any attention towards herself in any way. 

Rose was planning her shattering... this whole time?

Than what was it for? The deaths? The fighting?

If gems needed air to breathe, she would probably by hyperventilating. 

The slides down one of the patterned pink palanquin walls and stares out onto the faint reflection of the moon in the ocean.

“I didn’t just hear that.” She whispers to herself. 

She sees Pink Diamond and Pearl, walking out for the other side of the pavilion, talking, and smiling. 

She can’t let them down. She’s gotten so far to loose her friends now. She’ll just smile, and pretend, and do what she was meant to do. 

Provide her endless entertainment.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks for reading! The first arc of this fic will be over soon WHAT ;~;
> 
> Comments and feedback encouraged :D
> 
> Love y’all  
-Ren


	16. A Single Pale Rose

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Hold the ones you love close to you.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Holy wow! This chapter is over 2 thousand words! It’s really to compensate for how short the recent chapters have been.
> 
> Thank you so much for the support on this first part of Spinel’s story. It means a lot to me
> 
> Enjoy!  
<3

The next day is only interesting due to the sheer amount of participation that is shared between Pink Diamond, Pearl, and Spinel. This is reasonable, because tonight is the last time Pink Diamond will be, well, herself. Then, it’s just Rose Quartz and freedom in her path. 

But first, they have to suffer through a party. 

Spinel, from where she stands on a slightly elevated platform, can see Pink on the opposite corner of the area, standing with Pearl and a few highly- ranked gems. She can tell her friend’s smiles are extremely forced, which doesn’t help her uneasiness about the whole situation. 

Still, she stands on stage, balancing small red balls on her head, trying to entertain these bored-looking gems until her other friends arrive. 

The Crystal Gems are coming, and Homeworld has no idea.

Suddenly, she hears Pink Diamond laughing and talking more excitedly than before. Is it another act? Who is she talking to?

Spinel slowly begins to do her favorite part of the routine, juggling, and watches her friend from the corner of her eye. 

The Diamonds. They aren’t physically here, but they are on call. 

They’re going to see Pink Diamond get shattered. 

The looks over at Pink, talking to them, like she isn’t about to make them watch her die. 

Spinel looses her focus on juggling, and each ball, one by one, falls on her head. The gems who were watching her laughed at that, at least. Even the scary Jasper guard smiled a little bit. 

The heart-shaped gem steps off her little platform and walks over to Pearl. 

“So, when are the Gems coming?” She whispers. 

“Oh in a few minutes, I-“ Pearl stops, and looks back at Spinel. “How did you know about that?”

“You’re not supposed to keep things from your friends, Pearl.”

“Spinel,” Says Pearl, raising her voice maybe slightly too loud, causing Pink Diamond and a few others to look at them. “When on this very Earth have I ever said you were my friend?”

That’s it. 

Spinel says nothing, just leaves a hurt look on her face, turns, and runs towards the treeline. 

“Spinel!” Says Pink, reaching for her friend. 

But she never follows her. 

————

Sitting at the base of a large oak tree, Spinel melts to the ground, a mess of tears and confusion. 

All she ever was is nice to people. Aren’t they supposed to be nice back. 

She thinks about Garnet, who always listens to her when she needs it. Citrine, who has only encouraging words to say. Even to Bismuth, who she hasn’t around in a while, but still is remembered being empowering to the people around her. 

But Pearl? She just judges and pushes Spinel away. It feels... awful. She can’t even talk to Rose when Pearl is nearby, because she’s afraid of making Pearl upset. 

Her heart hurts. She holds her gemstone with one hand she wipes tears away with the other. 

“Spinel?” Says a warm, gentle voice. 

“G-Garnet?” Sniffles the small gem. “You’re here.”

“Yes, I am.” The fusion says, stepping in from out of the forest. “The rest of us are here too. I thought you were with Rose. What happened?” Garnet kneels next to Spinel, placing a hand on her shoulder. 

“Pearl was — and she-“ her throat tightens. 

Garnet sighs. “Of course. Don’t worry about her, she’s just jealous of you.” 

“Jealous? Why? I don’t have anything.”

“You have Rose. You and Pearl know her so well. She’s afraid you’ll steal her.”

“But she’s my friend too, I don’t understand.”

“Spinel.” Says Garnet, softly, “Pearl doesn’t see Rose as just a friend.”

Spinel looks up at her. “So, like, best friends? That’s basically the same things.”

Garnet smiles, her shoulders relaxing. “No, it’s like... what Ruby and Sapphire have,” she says, clasping her hands together. 

“Oh...” says Spinel, looking down at the dirt. 

“So you understand a little better?”

“Yeah,” she says, her voice slightly raspy. 

Some more rustles in the trees reveal an orange gem, slicing through low branches with her battle axe. 

“Hey Garnet!” Says Citrine, “The others are looking for yo- Spinel?!” She almost drops her axe in her surprise. 

“Citrine!” Spinel shoots up and wraps her arms around her friend a few times. 

“Ooh! Stretchy arm hug! Also, what are you doing here?” Citrine says, resting her head on her short friend. 

“Pearl.” Says Garnet simply, adjusting her visor. 

“Oh,” Citrine frowns.” Wanna come with us? We’re gonna attack a party! Wait,” she says, ending her hug, ”you like parties though, huh?”

Spinel looks up at her friend. “Not this party.”

“I have never seen you look angry before.” Says Citrine. “It looks awesome on you.” She smiles, patting her friend’s back. 

“Let’s go find the others, we’re falling behind now.” Says Garnet, gesturing to the other figures in the woods who are sneaking their way towards the direction of the party. 

Citrine and Spinel nod, and jog over to their friends. 

————

Pearl and Rose look over to where a few gems began shouting. Then comes the announcement- the Crystal Gems can be seen from the distance.

“My Diamond!” Says the gems around her. “Please, go be safe in your palanquin, we can protect you.”

Pink Diamond nods. “Thank you, you all are so brave.”

“Pink, what’s happening?” Says Blue Diamond over the comm. 

“The Crystal Gems are here.”

“You’re not fighting, are you?” Says Yellow Diamond. 

“Of course not. You told me I was bad at it, so I won’t unless it’s necessary.” Pink turns away from the screen, and rolls her eyes. If only they knew how cool she really was. 

Speaking of which, she had to go be Rose Quartz somewhere. 

————

As the Crystal Gems charge towards the group of Homeworld gems, Rose Quartz floats down from the air, with Pearl at her side. 

“Welcome to the party.” Says an obsidian. 

“Thanks.” Says Rose, unsheathing her pink sword. “Let’s end this, right here, so nobody else has to get hurt.”

A chorus of cheers follows the pink quartz into battle, them easily gaining the advantage. 

Then, Jasper appears. She’s tall, strong, and has rightly earned her title as the perfect quartz. She easily takes on three Crystal Gems at a time. 

Pearl is locked in her own battle close by, her spear swiftly blocking attacks from a tall carnelian gem. 

Rose breezes through soldiers like butter, her sword poofing every gem it slices with ease. 

“Who’s bad a fighting now?” She grumbles. 

“Keep pushing forward!“ Rose yells, the gems around her working more fiercely towards their goals. 

“Agh!” Cries a gem. 

Citrine. Jasper is standing over her, smiling. The orange gem has closed her eyes and clutched the gemstone on her left shoulder. It’s probably close to cracking all the way. As Rose goes over to try to heal her, a foot comes out of nowhere and kicks Jasper straight in the face, who promptly stumbles into a few more Crystal Gems. 

Rose recognizes those pink shoes anywhere. It’s Spinel. She watches as Spinel stretches her leg back to its normal length, and runs after Citrine. 

“Are you okay?” She says, squatting down to where her friend lays on the floor. “Is it your gem?”

“Yeah,” Citrine grunts. 

Then, Rose walks over to them. “Here, let me help you.” She says. 

Spinel has to look away when Rose uses her healing powers. Seeing her friend cry makes her uneasy, even if the tears aren’t real. But soon, Citrine stands back up and taps her on the shoulder. 

“All better! Look, I’m fine!” She says, showing the gemstone that rests peacefully on her shoulder. 

Spinel exhales. “Don’t do that again.”

“Okay, but I didn’t try to the first time. Anyways, I have to keep fighting. Be safe, Spinny.”

“Will do.” She says, giving her a thumbs-up. 

“Spinel?” Rose says. 

“I don’t think I can talk to you anymore.”

“Spinel, I do want to talk. I am sorry.” Rose says, looking off to the setting sun. “I have to go now, but please, don’t hate me.”

“I’ll try my best, Rose.” She mumbles at the ground. 

As the battle goes more and more towards their favor, Rose nods to Pearl. The chaos and fighting around them makes their escape back to the palanquin quite easy. 

What they don’t know, however, is that Spinel is following them, too. 

————

“So.. the plan? We didn’t really speak of much else when after said, ‘we need to shatter Pink Diamond.’” Pearl says, using her fingers as air quotes. 

“Oh, right.” Rose whispers. “Okay, you will shapeshift into me, and then I’ll be Pink Diamond again. All you need to do is take this sword,” she says, handing her sword and scabbard to Pearl,” and poof me. I’ll make fake gem shards, and it will look like I was shattered, and then you will be done. It’s going to be easy.” 

“There’s got to be another way.” Says a third voice.

“Who’s there?” Says Rose, sternly. 

“It’s just me.” Says Spinel, ”Please, there has to be another way.”

“Spinel, you know Blue and Yellow don’t care. They never have. This is ‘Pink Diamond’s colony’,” Rose says, rolling her eyes at the last part. “We could end it all right here, right now,” she offers a hand to both Spinel and Pearl.

“You know this is crazy, right?” Says Pearl. 

“I’ve seen crazier,” says Spinel. 

“No, this is different. This will change everything.” Says Pearl. 

“I know. Isn’t it exciting?” Says Rose. 

Pearl sighs, looking down at the sword in her hand. “It is.” She blushes. 

“We can leave our old lives behind. If this is really my world, I want to give it to the Crystal Gems.” Rose says. “I want to live here with human beings, I want to live here with you both. We’ll all finally be free.”

Pearl looks up at Rose, a new hope in her eyes. “Okay, I’m ready.”

Rose looks down at her, starry-eyed. “Pearl!” She awes. 

“I can’t believe I’m going to do this.”

“Well, she can’t exactly shatter herself.” Says Spinel, earning a soft smile from Rose. “I’m rooting for you, Pearl.”

As Rose pulls Pearl and Spinel into a group hug.

As Rose pulls away from the hug, her gem begins to glow. She begins shifting her form, so similar to the first time she did, so long ago. 

Suddenly, Pink Diamond stands before the two, smiling of gently. 

Pink walls over to the curtained opening of the palanquin, grabbing a handful of dirt from outside. 

Two hibiscus flowers lay in the dirt. Spinel takes the smaller one, and puts it in one of the heart-shaped buns in her hair. She takes the other, and places it behind Pearl’s hair. 

“I never wanted to steal you from her,” Spinel whispers softly to Pearl. “And also, you might need this,” she says, handing the sword to the pale gem. 

“Thank you.” She says, smiling. 

Pink Diamond takes the remaining dirt and crushes it into her hands, which produces realistic, gem-like shards. 

“Convincing?”

Pearl grimaces. “Very much so, my Diamond.”

“Pretty soon it will be just Rose.” She smiles, swallowing the fake gem pieces. 

As Pearl draws her sword, Pink raises a hand. 

“Wait.”

“Yes?”

“Spinel, Pearl, nobody can ever know we did this. I never want to look back.”

The two gems nod at her, listening intently as the Diamond kneels to their level. 

“So, for my last order to you as a Diamond,” she says, holding Pearl’s hands over her mouth, “Please, let’s never speak of this again.” She says. “No one can know.”

“And Spinel?”

“Yes, Pink?”

She does the same thing, holding Spinel’s hands over her mouth, “You cannot tell anyone what happened, and always know we need you. Please, be there for Pearl. Be there for me. Always.”

Spinel nods, once to Pink Diamond, and once to Pearl, who nods back at her. 

Pink Diamond then stands up, and exits the palanquin, as Pearl removes the sword from the scabbard. 

Pearl shapeshifts into what looks identical to Rose Quartz, causing the flower to fall from her hair. She looks one more time down at Spinel. 

“Go get her, Pearl.” Spinel smiles, taking the scabbard, hugging it close to her.

“Rose” smiles and walks outside the palanquin. 

Spinel exits from the other side, just in time to yell, “Watch out, my Diamond!” Which causes all the gems in the area to watch what happens next. 

Rose Quartz, rebel leader, takes a sword to Pink Diamond, and is shattered. 

————

There was never a plan for afterwards, however. 

The screaming of the Homeworld gems in agony over their lost monarch. The Diamond line was never shut off, and all Spinel sees is the Diamonds’ horrified faces at seeing their fourth member die. 

Then, they look angry. 

“Get every Homeworld gem off the planet. We’re on our way.” Says Yellow Diamond. 

That really caused full panic to set in. 

Homeworld gems come from everywhere, overwhelming the Crystal Gem’s forces, leaving most gems to get poofed or shattered in the span of 10 minutes. 

“Garnet! She’s still here!” Says Spinel to Pearl, who is now herself again, holding Rose’s gem in her hands.”

Just then, Rose Quartz’s gem glows, and she’s back. Not as Pink Diamond, but as just Rose. 

Spinel stretches her arms to Garnet, and brings her over to where the three gems are standing. 

“You guys are okay.” Says Garnet. 

“Yes.” Says Rose. “Where are the others?”

“Garnet gestures to the ground, to gemstones and shards scattered all over the dirt. On the ground, more Crystal Gems fight as hard as they can to stay alive as the Homeworlders flee to their ships. 

Just then, a bright light appears in the sky. 

“It’s the Diamonds. They’re attacking.” Says Rose.

“Wait! I can save more people!” Says Spinel. 

But as she speaks, a blinding beam of light descends upon the Earth. 

“I’m sorry, but you can’t,” Says Rose, pulling Spinel, Pearl, and Garnet close to her, and summoning a giant shield above them to block the ray. 

Spinel squeezes her eyes shut as the light surrounds them.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I wrote this all today so I’m sorry if it’s messed up in some places.
> 
> Auto correct is dumb, so feedback and comments are appreciated!
> 
> Thank you for reading!  
See y’all soon,  
Lots of love  
-Ren


	17. Strifes and Tension

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A lot happens after the bright light

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey! We’re back to our not-so-regularly scheduled program of short chapters.
> 
> It does get kind of dark in the middle... just putting it out there
> 
> Anyways, enjoy!  
<3

When the light faded away, there was silence. 

Nobody said a word, and there was not a single ounce of movement as far as the eye could see. The only noise came from the wind. 

The first one to move after a long time was Rose Quartz, who deactivated her shield, and went went to assess the damage. The crunch of broken gems as she walked made the others afraid to move. 

What happened to everyone? Some gems laid intact on the ground, so it couldn’t have been a shattering spell. 

Spinel moved next, determined to find her friends. 

“Citrine?” She whispered in vain. Her friend was nowhere to be seen. “Please be okay.” She tries once more. 

The heart-shaped gem scanned the hillside as thoroughly as she could, but it was hard to see, as the sun was beginning to set. 

But then, there she was. A little faceted orange gemstone laid gently in the dirt, reflecting the sunset’s colors perfectly. 

Spinel gasped. “Citrine!” She says, still quiet enough so that her voice wouldn’t echo through the now-empty hillside. 

She hugs her friend’s gem, and holds it close to her as she keeps walking. Garnet stands up, and begins looking for surviving gems as well. 

“Did you find you friend?” Asks Rose as Spinel walks closer to her. 

“Yeah.” Says the pink gem, showing Rose the gem in her hand. 

“Let’s hope she’s okay.” 

“Did we... did we cause this?” Asks Garnet from far away. 

Rose looks over towards Pearl, who was carefully making her way towards the quartz. Pearl looks up at her and expresses a small frown. 

“Well,” says Rose, putting a finger and thumb up to her chin, “We weren’t the ones who fired a giant deadly beam of light, but we were the reason why the attack was fired in the first place.”

“So... yes, then?” Says Spinel, joining Pearl in frowning. 

Rose sighs. “Yes. This is my fault.”

“It’s not just you.” Says Pearl, stepping closer. “I helped. We all wanted the war to end. We didn’t think it would be like this, though.”

“Yeah, Rose,” says Garnet, “You didn’t plan for this. There would have been no way of knowing this would happen.”

“Coming from the one with future vision, I guess that makes me feel better.” Says Rose. 

Despite their rather terrible situation, Garnet smiles faintly. It feels like, in the end, even if it takes thousands of years, it will be ok. 

Then, Citrine’s gem begins to glow. 

There’s an air of silent anticipation as the gems all gather around Citrine. As she reforms, she appears fine. Having changes her clothes slightly, but that’s all. A little sundress decorated with a faint star pattern, as if she supposes she should be able to relax now that the war is over. 

“You’re okay!” Says Spinel, practically jumping on her friend for a hug. 

“Yeah, I am.” She says. “I feel kinda funny though.”

“How so?” Asks Rose. 

“I have no idea. I kind of feel dizzy...” she says, almost falling backwards. 

Spinel quickly grabs her hand to save her from falling over. “Woah! Are you sure you’re okay?”

Citrine opens her mouth to assure her friend, but then, the skin on her arm begins to warp and change color. 

Slowly, little red dots begin to appear all over the typically orange gem’s surface. 

Spinel takes her arm off of Citrine’s, “Was that my fault?”

“No...” says Citrine, sounding more pained than before. “It’s just- I can’t-“

Citrine falls to her knees as the colors warp more and more across her skin, and eventually, over to her gemstone. The gem grabs her head and begins shaking. 

The other gems, besides Spinel, step back as one by one, a crown of spikes grows on Citrine’s head. 

“Citrine!” Says Spinel. “What’s going on?”

“I can’t help it, I’m sorry-“ is the last thing that painfully escapes her lips before the final thing happens. 

As Citrine cries in pain, her sounds turn more into monster-like roars, and pretty soon, where Spinel’s friend once stood now stands a large, spiky, orange and red creature who no longer looks friendly. 

“What did that blast do to her?” Says Garnet, her mouth open in shock. 

The monster then begins to charge at the closest target to it- Spinel. 

“Spinel, move, or fight, or something!” Shouts Rose. 

“She’s still my friend! She would never do-“

Poof. 

Just like that, Spinel’s reduced to her gemstone after a direct hit from the Citrine monster. 

“No!” Shouts Rose, slicing the monster with her sword. 

Then, two gemstones lay on the ground. A perfectly cut, heart-shaped gem, and a distorted gem of orange with red splotches all over it.

Garnet gingerly picks up the first, as Rose bubbles the second. 

“Are you okay, Rose?” Asks Pearl. 

“I will be.” She says. 

“Let’s go before more gems like Citrine can reform.” Says Garnet. 

The other two gems nod, and they walk over the hills and past trees until they see the light of the next day.

————

By the time Spinel reformed, the three other gems were long-tired from doing nothing but walk. They were sitting in the sand as the pink heart gem opened her eyes. There was a beach and three sets of relieved eyes in her view. 

What Garnet, Pearl, and Rose saw from Spinel was completely new- and not just her clothes showed it. 

Her expression was determined. In her hand held a small rock with a childish smiley face carved into it- the one Citrine gave her only a week ago. Her hair was the same, the little heart buns neatly held her fuchsia colored hair together. She wore short baby pink overalls, the top of them only went as high as the middle of her torso, the rest being covered by a frilly white t-shirt. She had a small pocket just at the top of the overalls- a little space in which she put the rock in. 

“We have find a way to help her,” were the first words Spinel said, breaking the serene sound of waves crashing. 

Rose sighed. “Spinel, we’ve been through a lot. Can’t we relax for a little while?”

“So were going to sit here, and pretend she isn’t hurting?” She says, desperation reflected in her eyes as she scanned from gem to gem. 

“We know this isn’t a great situation, but we should have clear heads and a good rest before looking into this further.” Says Garnet. 

“Please, this isn’t you, Spinel. Just calm down for a second.” Says Pearl. 

“Rose? You really want this?”

The pink quartz nods, staring down at her hands. ”We can’t do anything right now.”

Spinel sighs. “Okay, okay. I don’t want to upset you, it just bothers me a lot.”

“I understand that.” Says Rose. “Come, watch the sun rise with us.” She adds, patting the ground next to her. 

Spinel takes a deep breath, and plops down next to her left side, Pearl and Garnet sitting on her left . She watches the orange and red sunrise being reflected in the water, and is reminded of Citrine the whole time.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Rose why you gotta be so chill about Spinel’s bff turning into a giant monster?
> 
> Anyways, thanks for reading, and as per usual, feedback and comments are appreciated!
> 
> Lots of love,  
-Ren


	18. Disoriented

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Just a transition chapter, mostly. Very short, but I’m trying to give you guys content lol

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I’m so sorry I’ve been gone for ages! Thank you all for the insane support I’ve been getting here! I love y’all so much!
> 
> Enjoy!  
-Ren

When the sun had fully gone up, and the sky was blue and eager for the next day ahead, Rose stood, and suggested they keep moving. 

“We could go to the human village.” She said. “I have to meet up with them anyways.”

“What for?” Asks Pearl. 

“I promised them I’d come back.” 

“Ok. Sounds like a plan.” Says Garnet, coolly. 

Spinel felt dizzy- disoriented, almost. They all sounded so casual. Like they walk to this village to say hello every morning while they pretend that their friends haven’t been turning into monsters and ignore the fact that everything is, in reality, not casual. 

The little pink gem offered a thumbs up and a weak smile. There’s no reason to fight. Not now. 

————

The beachside was beautiful. The seagulls flew overhead, speaking in their caws and squalls as if that was a normal way to communicate. The gentle whoosh of the low tide rolling back and forth on the pale sand was a calming sound. The trees bristled, leaves rubbing against one another to accompany the song of the water. 

To Rose Quartz, the Earth was poetry. Every aspect of the green planet was a wonderfully complex puzzle that she couldn’t wait to solve. The animals, the plants, the humans, and heck, even the concept of weather was so wondrous. Being alive was a gift. 

So, in the midst of this orchestra that was going to become her everyday life, it was upsetting to see one of her closest companions sulking. Did she hate the music-er- Earth? No. Rose knew better. She knew what was wrong and couldn’t find a single way to fix it. 

Healing Citrine didn’t work. She hadn’t had the heart to tell Spinel yet, so she watched as her small friend gazed off into the horizon of the water as they walked parallel to it, seemingly trying to distract herself from being upset. 

“You can’t worry about her.” Says Pearl. “She’s her own gem. She’ll get there in time.”

“Time can’t come soon enough.” Sighs Rose. 

“Rose.” Says Garnet. ”Her friend tried to kill her yesterday. You- we- all should be patient. The path we’re walking down feels tense.” The fusion nods to her sapphire gemstone. 

“Right.” Says Rose, not fully letting the problem out of her mind. ”I should give it time. We have forever to see the whole planet, but we might not have that much time together. We have no idea how corruption works, meaning it could easily get to us, too.”

Pearl nods. “I agree, Rose”

Rose smiles. “Now maybe we should talk to Spin-“

“Where is Spinel?” Says Pearl.

“Her footprints aren’t in the sand anymore. She probably stopped following us a while ago.” Says Garnet, staring at her own sandy footsteps and back where they came from. 

“And we didn’t even notice.” Says Rose. “This is terrible.”

“She might have found another gem monster!”

As Garnet says those words, a loud roar echoes off the trees. 

————

“I know it’s you!” Says Spinel, running as fast as her stretchy legs can go. 

If Spinel could compare this large corrupted gem to any Earth animal, it would probably be a bear. 

A very spiky bear. 

“Sodalite, you’re not a monster!” She adds, sneaking a look into her corrupted friend’s eyes as she runs away. 

The blue-tinted monster swipes a clawed hand at her, which the pink gem dodges effortlessly. 

“I don’t want to hurt you! You know I don’t!”

The monster pauses for a blink of en eye, then continues after her. This is a moment long enough to convince Spinel that her old Crystal Gem companion is still in there somewhere. 

The monster roars again. The heart gem flinches at the cacophonous noise. 

They’re just really, really, deep down in there. 

As the tries to run away, Spinel trips on her own stretched-out leg and tumbles into the squishy sand. It sure would be nice to have friends to help her out, she thinks. 

But they’re miles ahead, and have probably forgotten all about her. 

As she finishes her thought, a spear flies overhead and just barely knicks the side of the monster’s arm. 

“Pearl?” Spinel asks herself, surprised at how familiar that pale blue spear is to her. 

Just then, the gems seemingly leap down from the sky, standing between Spinel and the corruption. 

“You can’t get rid of us that easily,” jokes Garnet, walking over to the little pink gem as Rose and Pearl move to defend them. 

“Are you okay?” She asks. 

“Yeah. Thanks, Garnet.” Says Spinel, a little confused. How did they find her? Why did it take so long to realize she was missing? Why-

“I’m sorry we didn’t notice you missing. We’re all distracted by something at the moment.” Garnet says, offering a hand to Spinel. “Wouldn’t you agree?”

She takes Garnet’s hand, and stands up, brushing sand off of her as she goes. “Yeah. Everything is... all over the place right now.”

“It’s not a great excuse, but I promise, we will notice next time.” Says Spinel’s tall friend. 

Even with future vision, how can she be so sure?

Boof! 

The corrupted gem poofs and is swiftly put into a pink bubble, similar to the way Citrine was handled. 

So they’re going to collect all of their friends, and then what? Display them? This isn’t helping, and it’s frustrating! Spinel clutches one of her hands into a fist by her side. 

There’s really nothing they can do, huh?

As swiftly as it tenses, her hand relaxes, and she goes to thank Pearl and Rose for coming to help her. 

“It’s no problem! I’m so sorry we left you!” Says Rose. 

“It’s fine, I’ll try to keep up better next time.” Spinel says, showing off the smile she’s perfected. 

“I’m glad you’re okay.” Says Pearl gently. 

Spinel’s fake smile loosens a little, but is then filled with a slightly more genuine grin. 

“I’m glad you found me.” She says. “Should we keep going? I want to meet these humans before sunset so I can see them better!”

And with that, the foursome heads off to the human village, together, and only slightly lost in their own thoughts.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks for the read! Hopefully I’ll be inspired to write a huge chapter soon! 
> 
> Of course, I love feedback and suggestions!
> 
> See you guys later! Bye!
> 
> Lost of love, Ren <3

**Author's Note:**

> Thank you for reading! I know it was short, but this was like a test run for this fic. I’ll probably post another part if someone actually shows interest in this lol. It will get interesting, I just had to set up the story first :)
> 
> Thanks again! Ily!


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